Tarlogic detects a hidden feature in the mass-market ESP32 chip that could infect millions of IoT devices
www.tarlogic.com
Tarlogic presents research revealing undocumented commands in the ESP32 microchip, present in millions of smart devices with Bluetooth
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Tarlogic Security has detected a backdoor in the ESP32, a microcontroller that enables WiFi and Bluetooth connection and is present in millions of mass-market IoT devices. Exploitation of this backdoor would allow hostile actors to conduct impersonation attacks and permanently infect sensitive devices such as mobile phones, computers, smart locks or medical equipment by bypassing code audit controls.

Update: The ESP32 “backdoor” that wasn’t.

  • The_Decryptor
    15·
    18 hours ago

    Tarlogic has detected that ESP32 chips, which allow connectivity via WiFi or Bluetooth, have hidden commands not documented by the manufacturer. These commands would allow modifying the chips arbitrarily to unlock additional functionalities, infecting these chips with malicious code, and even carrying out attacks of identity theft of devices.

    It’s not a backdoor, it’s a jailbreak. Sounds like they left the debug functionality enabled but just undocumented.

    Edit: They’re undocumented HCI commands, that’s the protocol the host (aka CPU) uses to talk to the chip, not a remote device.