![\"lg-635x357\"](\"https:\/\/hcsblogdotorg.files.wordpress.com\/2016\/01\/lg-635x357.jpg?w=620\")
<\/h1>\n<\/h1>\nFor the second time in a month, an Israeli team has uncovered a major security breach built in smartphone hardware that millions of users depend upon \u2013 and expect to be safe to use. A joint team of researchers from Israeli cyber security firms Cynet and BugSec announced their find on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Just three weeks ago, the same team unveiled a security flaw allowing hackers to breach through firewalls and control computers and laptops.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were doing research on apps that we believed had vulnerabilities, and were using an LG G3 device to do it,\u201d Idan Cohen, CTO of BugSec, told The Times of Israel exclusively. \u201cBut we noticed that there seemed to be a security hole in all the apps we were testing \u2013 and it was then we realized we were dealing with a security problem endemic to the device.\u201d<\/p>\n
That problem, called the SNAP vulnerability, takes advantage of a built-in feature on LG\u2019s most popular model. \u201cIt uses a flaw in one of the LG applications, Smart Notice, which is pre-installed automatically on every new LG device. Smart Notice displays to users the recent notifications that can be forged to inject unauthenticated malicious code.\u201d<\/p>\n
The team has known about the vulnerability for several months, said Cohen, but waited until LG developed a patch to protect phones before going public with the information. It should be noted that there are no documented cases of a hacker using the vulnerability \u2013 but given the potential use, LG immediately began working on a fix, which was released this week, prior to the Cynet\/BugSec announcement.<\/p>\n
Although now superseded by the G4, LG\u2019s G3 model remains very popular with its users. \u201cThe G4 has only been on the market for a few months, and most users haven\u2019t upgraded yet, so there are still many G3s in use. Because the vulnerability is in the built-in Smart Notice application, any app that uses it \u2013 and almost every app that gets messages does \u2013 is a potential vehicle for hackers to use to reach an individual\u2019s device, stealing data, sending revealing photos stored on the device to social media, grabbing saved credit card information, etc.,\u201d Cohen said.<\/p>\n
The vulnerability allows hackers to use a JavaScript routine to run server side code, allowing them to extend the reach of code to take control of a device. In a blog post, the researchers detail and demonstrate how they were able to grab phone numbers and ID information out of a phone\u2019s memory, access a phishing site with a device\u2019s browser to download malware, or even to run a denial of service hack attack against a web site \u2013 directly from the device, without its owner even being aware of what was going on. \u201cThe malicious code could be delivered by apps that utilize messaging services,\u201d said Cohen. \u201cWe created two \u2013 one that informed users of WhatsApp messages, and one that prompted them to scan a QR code \u2013 but many other methods could be used as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Upon discovering the problem, Cohen said that the team \u2013 led by researchers Liran Segal and Shachar Korot \u2013 did the responsible thing and informed LG. \u201cThey were very professional about it, and worked with us to understand the problem and ways to fix it,\u201d said Segal. \u201cAs to how they allowed such a vulnerability into their device, they didn\u2019t explain and we didn\u2019t ask,\u201d as the matter was an internal LG one. \u201cI imagine they are doing their own internal reckoning right now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Acknowledging the issue wasn\u2019t necessarily the way firewall makers reacted last month when another team of BugSec and CyNet researchers informed them about the massive design flaw in next-generation firewalls, which examine application communications instead of port access to determine whether or not a hacker is trying to break through.<\/p>\n
In that case, as well, a JavaScript flaw allowed hackers to waltz through the firewall\u2019s protective shield and take control of computers and servers. \u201cThis vulnerability could potentially be a big risk for organizations,\u201d said Stas Volfus, Head of Offensive Security for the team. \u201cIt\u2019s built into all next generation firewalls, and if we were able to exploit it, hackers will be able to do so as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Instead of thanking the team, though, some manufacturers \u2013 Cohen won\u2019t say which ones \u2013 responded by saying that they knew all about the vulnerability, and they weren\u2019t worried about it. The hacker community had been aware of the problem for several years, but no attacks using the vulnerability had yet been reported \u2013 meaning that other security measures were sufficiently protecting the systems.<\/p>\n