CSW Security Advisory 0002: Oral B SmartMonitor Information Disclosure Vulnerability and DoS
Craig Wright Security Advisory 0002
http://gse-compliance.blogspot.com
Jun 19, 2008
I. BACKGROUND
The Oral B Triumph Toothbrush with SmartGuide?
ProfessionalCare? 9900 is designed to enhance your brushing experience with
?while-you-brush? feedback. SmartGuide is designed to ensure that you always
have the best brushing experience.
http://www.oralb.com/us/products/power/triumphsmartguide/
II. DESCRIPTION
Remote exploitation of an information disclosure vulnerability in Oral B?s
SmartGuide management system allows attackers to obtain sensitive information.
This vulnerability exists due to a lack of authentication between the
toothbrush and the monitoring device. The simple association key is easily
compromised allowing the toothbrush and monitoring device to be spoofed using
by a malicious attacker.
There is also a possible wireless denial of service where a malicious attacker
could stop the radio feedback and monitoring.
The trashbin feature of the SmartMonitor device does not overwrite deleted data.
III. ANALYSIS
Exploitation allows an attacker to gain sensitive information from the
toothbrush. No authentication is required to reach the affected application.
The attacker only needs to be able to monitor the wireless transmission.
The attacker can determine the users brushing habits. It is possible to report
on the location of the mouth that is being brushed and the amount of time spent
on each of four defined ?quantrants?.
An attacker could also conduct a serious DoS attack. Flooding the wireless
communications causes the unit to stop responding. This can result in the
following actions:
A. A continued DoS could cause the bristle monitor to not send an end of
life signal to the SmartMonitor system leaving the user to continue using an
old toothbrush head which could eventually lead to dental failure. The failure
to monitor the most effective head life could result in bristle failure.
B. Dental statistics could be erased from the monitor unit. This would
leave the user unable to determine and report on their brushing habits. This
could lead to user confusion and over or under brushing leading to tooth wear.
C. Fake battery life transmissions can be sent making the user believe
that the battery life is in fact longer than is truly stored. This could lead
to a catastrophic brushing failure where the toothbrush runs out of power in
mid-clean. A continued long term attack could lead to the creation of cavities
in the user?s teeth.
A forensic analysis of the SmartMonitor unit can be conducted to recover
deleted brushing sessions. A user who was attempting to cover a period of
lapsed dental care could be investigated and the deleted data recovered. In
some cases it is feasible that this could result in a reduction of user
privileges and possible punitive action (especially where the analysis is
conducted by the parent administrative body).
IV. DETECTION
The DoS attack is readily detectable as the toothbrush fails to communicate to
the monitoring unit.
Monitoring and interception remains undetectable with no known means to monitor
this insidious threat to user brushing privacy.
V. WORKAROUND
The vendor has a deactivation process that will allow the toothbrush to operate
manually with the radio disabled.
VI. VENDOR RESPONSE
I was unable to get an adequate result from the vendor and the receptionist did
not forward the calls after the first few. A direct call to the sales channel
resulted in the comment, ?who the hell would want to monitor a toothbrush?.
VII. CVE INFORMATION
The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) project has not assigned a name
to this issue as yet.
VIII. DISCLOSURE TIMELINE
19/06/2008 Initial vendor notification
19/06/2008 Initial vendor response
19/06/2008 Coordinated public disclosure
IX. CREDIT
Permission is granted for the redistribution of this alert electronically
Disclaimer: The information in the advisory is believed to be accurate at the
time of publishing based on currently available information. Use of the
information constitutes acceptance for use in an AS IS condition.
There are no warranties with regard to this information. Neither the author nor
the publisher accepts any liability for any direct, indirect, or consequential
loss or damage arising from use of, or reliance on, this information.