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Comments: 275 +- IT: Apple Keyboard Firmware Hack Demonstrated on Saturday August 01 2009, @12:24PM
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Anonymouse writes with this excerpt from SemiAccurate:
"Apple keyboards are vulnerable to a hack that puts keyloggers and malware directly into the device's firmware. This could be a serious problem, and now that the presentation and code (PDF) is out there, the bad guys will surely be exploiting it. The vulnerability was discovered by K. Chen, and he gave a talk on it at Black Hat this year (PDF). The concept is simple: a modern Apple keyboard has about 8K of flash memory, and 256 bytes of working RAM. For the intelligent, this is more than enough space to have a field day. ... The new firmware can do anything you want it to. Chen demonstrated code which, when you put in a password and hit return, starts playing back the last five characters typed in, LIFO. It is a rudimentary keylogger; a proof of concept more than anything else. Since there is about 1K of flash free in the keyboard itself, you can log quite a few keystrokes totally transparently."
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Huh?? (Score:5, Insightful)
Why does a keyboard even need flash in the first place? Being a keyboard isn't a complex job.
Re:Huh?? (Score:5, Informative)
Modern peripherals have microcontrollers that are basically tiny computers all on one chip. The have program flash, data registers, and sometimes data flash or eeprom memory. They are basically small computers about a $1.00 a pop, and are generally more affordable than custom silicon for most low-speed applications (i.e. less than 20 MIPS).
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Re:Huh?? (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:Huh?? (Score:4, Insightful)
Dealing with USB however is something that requires a reasonablly powerfull microcontroller with quite complex firmware. Most current microcontrollers are flash based and in many cases are likely to have more flash than the application needs.
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Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
The need for physical access? Sure, someone intentionally spying on YOU might do it, but for someone looking to keylog as many credit card numbers as possible it'd be kinda difficult/pointless.
Re:Huh?? (Score:4, Insightful)
You could use it constructively, though. You could block the key sequences used to boot off a CD or external drive, which could actually be a useful feature for corporations or schools wanting to prevent booting from external media, since the other methods to prevent that don't work that well.
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Re: (Score:2)
Ok, i should have clarified that i meant 'user writable' flash.
Re:Huh?? (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm pretty sure it's easier for me to get some code to run on your machine than it is for me to break into your house and install a logger inside your keyboard.
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Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
But if you removed the logger, say by reinstalling the OS or whatever I would lose that. With it in the keyboard I you need to also replace that (or reflash it of course).
Re:Huh?? (Score:5, Informative)
No, it's your OS's job to decide what pressing keypad-minus does, the keyboard should simply tell the OS that keypad-minus key was pressed
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Flash memory in a keyboard? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Flash memory in a keyboard? (Score:5, Informative)
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+5 Informative. In fact, the laptop keyboards also have a bit of flash, and Apple has updated a whole host of keyboard firmware over time.
Re:Flash memory in a keyboard? (Score:5, Informative)
The firmware could have been in ROM, but these days Flash is about as cheap as ROM and gives you the option of distributing fixes if you find bugs after the device ships.
Two such examples of exactly that:
The only news here is that the same mechanism of installing these updates is able to have other third party software installed in their place as well.
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What about other keyboard manufacturers? (Score:4, Insightful)
Is the Apple implementation any different from what other USB HID makers use? I'd be kind of surprised if Apple did anything original with its keyboard design other than making them shiny and thin (and giving them no tactile feedback whatsoever.)
And if so, are other USB keyboards vulnerable to similar hacks?
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Re:What about other keyboard manufacturers? (Score:5, Informative)
All USB keyboards are vulnerable. The blame here rests on the USB Device Firmware Update Specification [usb.org], which specifies how firmware updates are supposed to work. Hint: there's no security. The only reason this makes news at all is because it has the word "Apple" in the title.
Spec compliant, secure: choose one. USB was designed for single user computers without security in mind. The only way to solve this (partially) with existing hardware would be to block access to hardware devices from applications running as non-root users, which is fundamentally contrary to the desire to get device drivers out of the kernel for stability. Short of that, this can only be solved by putting a more powerful CPU in the keyboard controller so that it can do a signature check on its own firmware.
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Re:What about other keyboard manufacturers? (Score:4, Insightful)
Wouldn't this depend on the keyboard being reflashable from the USB interface? There's a lot of USB microcontrollers out there which can only be re-flashed with physical access to the hardware, not through the USB interface. Maybe this violates USB HID spec, but why does anyone need their keyboard firmware to be upgradeable anyway? This isn't exactly something that changes often. Your typical $5 USB-to-serial adaptor isn't upgradeable either to my knowledge, why should this be?
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Flash is often cheaper than wires (Score:5, Informative)
for anything more complex that a light switch, the flash will be the least expensive way to go - as mentioned above, what we are talking about is a micro-controller, not a dedicated flash memory chip like that used to store the music (or whatever) in a mp3 player. The smallest of these are US $1 Retail in single quantity. order a million and they are likely 20 cents tops. A slightly larger one will have enough pins for the keys on the keyboard and spit USB out the other end, along with enough extra pins to act as a USB Hub, light the LEDs for caps lock, and still have pins left over for factory testing. 1 chip is all you need ( yes it might be cheaper to use dumb logic to multiplex the pins from the keyboard buttons - in fact it is - the difference is a few cents but over a few million it adds up - i am attempting to make the simple argument )
And this chip is still well under $1.
With one of these i can use the same chip in every keyboard i design. The logic design for all my keyboards never needs to change - so i need to only stock 1 pc board for all keyboards - just flash the correct firmware before it goes into the keyboard. If someone lays out the pc board wrong - i may well be able to fix this problem in the firmware. I want to make a trackball, a joystick, a WOW keyboard - same chip, same logic pc board, just slightly different firmware - some guy in marketing wants to add an LED, same chip - same pc board
This same thing is what makes it possible to 'flash' BIOS. In "The Old Days" Bios was an expensive, custom memory chip . You had to change out the chip itself to upgrade the BIOS. So you had to disassemble the computer, so you needed someone who could do this, ... it was expensive to make a change, it was not easy to add a feature, like support for a new drive. and so on..
Today all BIOS is FLASH - and the flash is either inside a micro-controller, or (and more often the case) the memory has its own micro-controller and this is what handles all of the heavy lifting for a BIOS upgrade - it programs the BIOS memory. And everyone of these BIOS micro-controllers has extra RAM and FLASH hanging around, it makes upgrades easy and cheap. Problems that used to cost millions to fix are now only a download away.
These micro-controllers are everywhere today - they run the fancy display of car stereos - the graphics - the security code for detachable faceplates - all in one of these little things. The same is true for home stereos - it is cheaper to install one of these on the pc board with the display than to pay for the bigger connectors that would be needed otherwise. It really can be, and often is, cheaper than wire. And again use the same pc board, just flash new software into it, and the marketing guys have new features - or at least flashing lights - for the cost of changing some code. The left over memory in this chip is what allows for fancy 'demo' displays on electronics - the memory is there - let the marketing guys fill it with whatever they want. The other guys add a 'cool' feature - add your own without even slowing down the assembly line ( yes testing .... i know )
Anywhere you see cool flashing lights, or a small add on feature, on a piece of electronics, it is likely that one of these micro controllers is what is making that happen. You want serial and not USB - easy - , you want to make you product compatible with another guys new product - easy, you want to change the length of time on the wash cycle of your dishwasher so that it can get a better rating in Consumer Reports - easy -
Every keyboard has a similar problem - just happened to be exploited on a Mac first.
And if you are looking for a career in electronics/computer science/engineering - embedded design can be fun
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Re:Flash memory in a keyboard? (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:Flash memory in a keyboard? (Score:4, Funny)
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Re:Flash memory in a keyboard? (Score:4, Interesting)
If it has to have a flash BIOS for some reason, why does the flashing utility allow any image to go in without notice? Something like this should either require a signed or encrypted image that the flash utility decodes and decides is correct before putting it in. Maybe something simple as holding a distinct key sequence down on the keyboard while the utility pops up might be an alternative. This way at least the user has to be duped into knowingly flashing the keyboard, as opposed to a completely stealth compromise.
If I were making a keyboard with a flashable BIOS, rather than going the easy route and hiding a symmetric key on the chip would be eventually discovered, I'd use a SHA256 hash combined with an elliptic signing key to validate that a BIOS image was not tampered with before allowing it to be copied to the device. Yes, (barring someone breaking the public key crypto or obtaining the private key) someone could hack a particular keyboard to accept any flash image, but it would require physical access to the JTAG contacts on the device, and its well known that the game is over when an attacker obtains physical access to a machine anyway.
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Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Most likely because they never anticipating anyone being bored enough to reverse engineer something as simple as a keyboard to hack it. Its like reverse engineering your old school ball mouse.
Some people just have alot of time on their hands
What's next? (Score:3, Funny)
This is getting quite silly... Perhaps manufacturers should try to keep simple devices actually simple.
Re:What's next? (Score:4, Informative)
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That's a feature, not a bug.
That's not a bug. (Score:3, Informative)
That *is* a feature. It isn't a hacked battery, it is a battery which is hacked to appear as an authentic internal tool, designed to read a certain area on a memory stick, so sony can quickly restore a problematic psp.
It was designed that way, and obscured. the 'hack' merely makes that information public and usable.
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Perhaps manufacturers should try to keep simple devices actually simple.
When most major appliances, all automobiles, motorcycles, HDTVs, etc., etc., have a least one (if not dozens) of microprocessors and storage chips onboard, the time for that sentiment was long past in the last century.
We've sold our souls for convenience and "ease of use" features, and are now beginning to reap the dark side of those value adds.
Yes, but does it run... (Score:4, Funny)
Coming soon to an enterprise near you (Score:5, Funny)
Mandatory 2k long passwords to defeat possible hardware loggers.
Changed monthly, of course.
Physical access required (Score:4, Insightful)
Unless you also have some hidden program on the computer to flash the keyboard and later download the data (in which case you could just log the keys by software), you'd need to physically remove the keyboard, flash it with a keylogging BIOS, return the keyboard, then later retrieve the keyboard to get the logged keys.
And, as they say, physical access is root access. There are an unlimited number of ways someone could compromise your computer if they are given access to the hardware and firmware. This hack is just further proof of that.
Oh, and don't let anyone lend you their keyboard.
Re:Physical access required (Score:5, Insightful)
And, as they say, physical access is root access. There are an unlimited number of ways someone could compromise your computer if they are given access to the hardware and firmware
Only as long as they have a fair amount of time. The beauty of this hack is that you could set up a laptop so that any keyboards that get plugged into it are immediately infected. Then you only need a few seconds alone with the targets computer to unplug the keyboard, plug it into your laptop to infect it, then plug it back into the targets computer and leave. It minimizes the risk of being caught trying to do something more extensive to the system. You just walk into an unoccupied office and walk back out 30 seconds later knowing that the keylogger is installed, as opposed to spending 30 minutes in the office trying to reboot, get into the firmware, etc.
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Re:Physical access required (Score:5, Insightful)
Why are people always so quick to dismiss the seriousness of low level exploits?
Consider a Mac pool at a university. You unplug the keyboard, plug it into a small box with a USB host controller that you programmed to rewrite the keyboard firmware. Plug the keyboard back in, wait until someone else logs in. Then come back, open a text editor, type your secret trigger word, watch as the keyboard spits out the logged passwords.
Consider a remote root exploit. That enables the hacker to reflash the firmware of an attached keyboard. Then the attacker can remove all traces of the hack from the target computer. The keyboard logs passwords and waits for a trigger word. How do you make someone type a strange word? Captcha. The attacker now has your password/passphrase (SSH login to your company's web server? Your online banking PIN? And the only trace is a modified firmware which nobody checks.
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Doesn't USB have DMA capability? (Score:2)
If I'm not mistaken, doesn't USB have a way for devices to access the host's memory via DMA? If so, does that mean it's possible for a 'hacked' keyboard to use DMA to write an exploit into the host machine's memory?
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Makes me glad... (Score:2, Interesting)
...that I don't like the Mac keyboards. I use a Mac Pro at work but the first thing I did was go out and buy a Microsoft ergonomic keyboard. Yeah, I know it's probably blasphemy to many to mix MS & Apple hardware, but I've used MS ergonomic keyboards since they practically first came out, both at home and at work, and would never go back to a regular keyboard, especially one from Apple. I've yet to see one from Apple that doesn't make my hands ache after a few hours of use.
Re:Makes me glad... (Score:4, Insightful)
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Re: (Score:3, Informative)
probably a lot of keyboards, but Apple keyboards are probably the largest block of a single identifiable brand out there. everyone probably uses OEM'd logitechs but those are probably customized to each OEM
How is news worthy... (Score:4, Insightful)
I'm sure every microwave out there is "hackable" in the sense you can replace its firmware and make it burn users popcorn each time. So what?
Unless you discovered a way to hack someone's keyboard remotely without user intervention, this is not even worth mentioning on a geek site.
Old tech is the best tech. (Score:2)
This is a hack on all the new shiny aluminum white keyed keyboards.
I predict a run no eBay sales of old keyboards [ebay.com] and USB PC alternatives for the paranoid.
For the rest, well...you get what you pay for eh?
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Love the dumb comments on this thread. The army of ninja hackers will not be sneaking into houses tonight to backdoor all of the Apple keyboards in the world. The fact that it requires physical access to the keyboard makes it pretty close to useless except for public access sites and people who are cheating on their S.O. who happens to be a Black Hat hacker. I would suggest in the latter case you are hella screwed anyway.
Um... I must be missing something (Score:3, Insightful)
If someone has sufficient permissions on your machine to update your firmware, aren't you kind of screwed already? I suppose they could swap your (external) keyboard for a compromised one, but that still implies physical access.
That said, given that the ability to update is useful, and that the flash memory size we're talking about is so small, is there a significant downside to having the OS check hashes of the firmware code on initialization?
Re:Um... I must be missing something (Score:4, Insightful)
"Hey, I think my keyboard's acting up. Could I borrow yours for a sec?"
"Sure."
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Why was this implemented? Stupid or evil? (Score:4, Insightful)
As the article points out, "For a device as simple as a keyboard, it is hard to imagine why a firmware update mechanism is even required." There's no justification for including an update feature other than as a designed-in security hole. The keyboard CPU should be running off a ROM, or at least an MPU where the security bit has been set to prevent future changes.
This looks like a "feature" put in for development that should have been pulled before release.
People seem to be missing the bigger issue (Score:4, Interesting)
The problem here isn't really with the end user's keyboard - flashing that is a lot of work for little return, in most cases.
The bigger issue is if/when an enterprising criminal gets access at the plant that makes the keyboards. We've seen CDs/DVDs with malware installed (I'm not even thinking about Sony here); we've seen CompactFlash cards preloaded with viruses... if a batch of keyboards shipped out from manufacturing already installed with a key logger, we're really screwed - who's going to notice?
Much easier way... (Score:3, Informative)
Cmd - "s"
Voila, root access. documented here
Re:Too much work (Score:4, Interesting)
Not entirely dumb. I have a US keyboard/top case for a late 2006 MB that began registering as a UK keyboard after a Coke spill.
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