BLURtooth – A new Vulnerability Let Attackers to Overwrite the Authentication Keys

Security researchers from at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and Purdue University discovered vulnerabilities related to Cross-Transport Key Derivation (CTKD) with Bluetooth BR/EDR and LE in Bluetooth Specifications 4.0 through 5.0.

Bluetooth BR/EDR and LE that using Cross-Transport Key Derivation (CTKD) are vulnerable to key overwrite which allows attackers to gain additional access to profiles by reducing the encryption strength.

BLURtooth Attack

According to the specifications of 4.2 and 5.0 Bluetooth versions, CTKD is used for pairing by devices that support both Low Energy (BLE) and Basic Rate/Enhanced Data Rate (BR/EDR) transport methods.

By using the CTKD it let devices pair once by using the transport method while generating both the BR/EDR and LE Long Term Keys (LTK) without needing to pair a second time.

To launch a successful attack the device should reside within the wireless range of a vulnerable Bluetooth device supporting both BR/EDR and LE transports that support CTKD between the transports and permits pairing on either the BR/EDR or LE transport either with no authentication or no user-controlled access.

The vulnerability can be tracked as CVE-2020-15802, it is referred to as BLURtooth and the group of attacks is being referred to as the BLUR attacks.

Bluetooth SIG recommends additional conformance tests for authentication keys, disallow overwrite of the LTK, or LK.

The Bluetooth SIG further recommends that devices restrict when they are pairable on either transport to times when user interaction places the device into a pairable mode or when the device has no bonds or existing connections to a paired device.

Bluetooth users are recommended to have installed the latest updates from the device and operating system manufacturers.

You can follow us on Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook for daily Cybersecurity updates

Also Read:

Google Maps XSS Bug – Bounty Doubled After the Original Fix had Failed

New Jenkins Vulnerability Let Hackers Steal Sensitive Information By Obtain HTTP Response Headers

Gurubaran

Gurubaran is a co-founder of Cyber Security News and GBHackers On Security. He has 10+ years of experience as a Security Consultant, Editor, and Analyst in cybersecurity, technology, and communications.

Recent Posts

Hackers Use ConnectWise SkyKick Credentials to Access Microsoft 365, Halting Cloud Backups

Attackers abused compromised ConnectWise Cloud Backup credentials to access Microsoft 365 customer environments, prompting ConnectWise…

1 day ago

Anthropic’s Claude AI Uncovers Origins of NSA-Provided Cryptographic Keys After 25 Years

Anthropic says an internal Claude research model reconstructed how the National Security Agency generated seeds…

1 day ago

Critical WordPress Flaws Allow Attackers to Execute Remote Code Without Authentication

Two WordPress Core vulnerabilities can be chained to execute remote code without authentication, according to…

1 day ago

OpenBSD Kernel Flaw Dating Back 37 Years Enables Local Privilege Escalation to Root

A newly disclosed OpenBSD kernel exploitation chain combines a shared memory accounting flaw with a…

1 day ago

GhostAction Hackers Hide Credential-Stealing Malware in Fake Font Files Across 94 GitHub Repositories

GhostAction attackers have expanded their GitHub credential theft campaign with a second stage that disguises…

1 day ago

SideCopy Hackers Target Indian Organizations With ReverseRAT Malware to Steal Data

Indian authorities have warned that SideCopy hackers are targeting Indian organizations, including academic institutions, with…

1 day ago