I’m not sure, but with routers, I think OpenWRT installs/flashes at the firmware level. There could be hardware level vulnerabilities I suppose.

In the case of Lenovo laptops used in Iraq (2004), China had additional hardware chips snooping and sending data back via Ethernet cable.

Running OpenWRT is generally a good idea. I’m not gonna lie and say it’s easy to setup. But it’s worth it.

In my recent experience, it recommends shitty blogs loaded with adverts and keywords. Most annoyingly, it always recommends Fandom’s Wiki above better alternative wiki sites. My DuckDuckGo experience has surprisingly been more useful.

That aside, my Brother laser printer is still working great. No complaints.