The popular Samsung SmartCam IP cameras have been affected by a security flaw that could make the devices prone to hijacking and be exploited by remote attackers.
The flaw was discovered by a hacking group called the Exploitee.rs. The group discovered a local server vulnerability that could be used to gain root access to the device.
The hack can be done by injecting a command file into a web script while using the device’s “iWatch” webcam monitoring service to execute commands remotely as the root user.
Samsung SmartCam’s History
The Samsung SmartCam is a cloud-enabled IP camera that allows people to view live or recorded video from any location. The device is used in real-time monitoring of babies, pets, or old people, and is also used to improve home and business security. The product was originally developed by Samsung Techwin but was later sold to the South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group.
This is not the first time that security flaws were discovered in the Samsung camera device. Earlier, the company was forced to disable the local administration panel to address the flaws that were reported in the web interface of various SmartCam models in the past few years.
Issues Detected On The Samsung IP Camera
Aside from the security breach that the Exploitee.rs exposed in a blog post, the Pen Test Partners also conducted a test on the Samsung SNH-6410BN device to explore its vulnerabilities even further. Here’s what they found:
1. The device does not make use of transport encryption, so one has to secure protocols whenever possible.
2. The device allows only one web service user account, so a breach could lead to full control of the device’s functionality.
3. An attacker can connect and take over the device if the owner is unaware of the existence of the device’s web interface.
4. An attacker can remotely reset the password and take over the device.
5. The device firmware is not secure, making it prone to reverse engineering.
6. The device has only a single system user, which allows easy root access.
7. A weak password can be easily compromised with the device’s use of a password hashing algorithm.
8. The debug functionality cannot be used because it is still in a release build.
9. Command injection as root is possible because user input is seen as trusted and taken through to a system call.
For additional information on the security issues that may be affecting your Samsung camera, we highly recommend that you visit the Pen Test Partners’ report to learn more.
© 2016 Tech Times, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
