Security researchers have discovered that 80 cameras come with backdoors that could be used by hackers to spy on users or launch further attacks.
SEC Consult says it reached out to Sony about the issue in October, and the company has already released new firmware updates that patch the vulnerability. However, the researchers believe that Sony added the backdoors to “check for bugs during development or factory firmware” and that the backdoors are not actually vulnerabilities.
They can, however, state that they discovered two different vulnerabilities, one of which affects the web interface which allows an attacker to connect to a camera with a Telnet service.
The second vulnerability makes it possible to compromise the root account, which means an attacker could gain full control over a camera and spy on users, disrupting its operation by adding the device to the Mirai botnet or sending different photos and videos.
The IP cameras that have these backdoors are mainly aimed at businesses and S0ny urges everyone to update their firmware to stay safe. SEC Consult recommends that Sоny and Sоny’s customers conduct a thorough security review of the affected products. It is important to restrict access to IP cameras using VLANs, firewalls, etc. Otherwise, the risk for a botnet victim (e.g. Mirai) is high, the security report states.
According to the advisory, a hacker could take advantage of the backdoors using a local network or internet connection, as long as they can reach these cameras online.
Sony has already acknowledged the security vulnerability and stated, "We are grateful to SEC Consult for their assistance in strengthening the security of our network cameras.".
