Unknown "static" IP address in Network Map client list

[Natty]

The client list showed an unknown and unexpected client was connected to the internet via my RT-AC66U B1 operating in router mode. The connection had been made via a wireless AP, wired to one of the LAN ports on RT-AC66U B1 router. The client had an address in the DHCP automatically assigned range 100 - 254, but instead of "DHCP" or "Manual", the Client IP address was "Static". What does Static mean in theis context? My static IPs explicitly assigned in the router GUI are denoted "Manual", not "Static".

WPA2 authenticated unknown MAC addresses are allowed to connect to the wireless AP, but I would expect these to be automatically assigned "DHCP" by the router. The non-Asus AP running fairly recent DD-WRT has a WPA2 password that is 34 characters long, so presumably unhackable? Router still on 384.18, in case that's relevant.

 

[ColinTaylor]

It probably means that you have rebooted the router but not the access point.

 

[Natty]

Both router and AP are configured reboot a 4am every day, but I hard rebooted both when I discovered the unknown client. It definitely wasn't the AP's MAC address showing up in the automatically allocated DHCP range. The AP is manually allocated a static IP in the router, though this has never appeared in the client list.

I blocked the unknown MAC address on both devices, and nothing has broken with my network and users. I know MAC addresses can easily be changed on clients, so that was a fairly weak defence. The client's network name was presented as the same as its MAC address, never seen before on my network, so assumed to be an intruder.

What does "Static" mean as a label in the client list?

 

[ColinTaylor]

What does "Static" mean as a label in the client list?

It typically means that the client's MAC address is not reserved in DHCP nor has it been issued since the router was rebooted. This is why I asked you whether the router has been rebooted after the access point, even if only by a minute. If the router is rebooted after the access point it will not know how the client got its IP address and will assume it's static.

 

[Natty]

It typically means that the client's MAC address is not reserved in DHCP nor has it been issued since the router was rebooted.

Thanks for the explanation.

Given the rogue client's IP address was in the automatically assigned DHCP range, and the rogue device's MAC address is not in the manually assigned IP list, shouldn't the router assume the IP is DHCP rather than static? Is that a bug, albeit a fairly minor one? Or is that the router's way of saying "this IP address was requested by the client" (if such a thing is possible)?

 

[ColinTaylor]

Given the rogue client's IP address was in the automatically assigned DHCP range, and the rogue device's MAC address is not in the manually assigned IP list, shouldn't the router assume the IP is DHCP rather than static?

Damned if you do and damned if you don't. It would be more accurate if they replaced "Static" with "I don't know where the f@ck this IP address came from". But that's probably too long.

Or is that the router's way of saying "this IP address was requested by the client" (if such a thing is possible)?

No.