

- #ADD SMARTAPP TO SMARTTHINGS APP HOW TO#
- #ADD SMARTAPP TO SMARTTHINGS APP INSTALL#
- #ADD SMARTAPP TO SMARTTHINGS APP UPDATE#
#ADD SMARTAPP TO SMARTTHINGS APP HOW TO#
"The potential vulnerabilities disclosed in the report are primarily dependent on two scenarios - the installation of a malicious SmartApp or the failure of third party developers to follow SmartThings guidelines on how to keep their code secure," a SmartThings representative said. Samsung says its app oversight keeps users safe
#ADD SMARTAPP TO SMARTTHINGS APP UPDATE#
SmartThings said in an emailed comment to The Verge that these findings prompted it to update its documentation for developers on how to keep their source code secure. Now, most everything connects to the internet. Samsung purchased SmartThings nearly two years ago when IoT was only beginning to blossom. But SmartThings' issues do demonstrate the inherent security problems that can arise when a new connected business springs up. Earlier this year, Comcast's home security system was easily duped into letting an attacker inside. These critical flaws aren't the first to be found in connected devices and their various platforms. Only 14 percent believed that access would let the battery app send door access codes to a remote server. Ninety-one percent said they would let a battery monitoring app check on their smart lock, and consequently give the app access to its functions. The researchers surveyed 22 SmartThings users. These exploits do require user interaction, but the researchers determined that many people readily grant these privileges or are unaware of how they're granted on SmartThings. In another proof of concept, the researchers exploited a separate over-privilege flaw to program their own PIN code for a smart lock, allowing them to create a secret backdoor.Ĥ2 percent of SmartApps are currently overprivileged The researchers found 42 percent of 499 analyzed SmartApps are currently overprivileged in a similar way. If the user agreed to let the malicious - but seemingly innocuous - app access their smart lock, the researchers could then not only monitor its battery, but perform the lock's other functions, including unlocking the door.

The researchers demonstrated this finding with a proof of concept app promising to monitor battery life on various devices. But it also gives the app more access than it needs.Īn app is granted way more permissions than it needs After being installed, SmartThings then lists all the devices that could be used with that app because of its ability to sync with those permissions. When a user downloads a SmartApp, it asks for specific permissions to perform its intended purpose. Another over-granting of permissions involves the way in which SmartApps connect to physical devices. A smart lock might only need the ability to lock itself remotely, for instance, but the SmartThings API bundles that command with the unlock command, which an attacker can leverage to carry out a physical attack. Multiple issues exist in SmartThings' framework, the researchers say, but most pressing are the privileges given to apps, many of which they don't need to function.
#ADD SMARTAPP TO SMARTTHINGS APP INSTALL#
Crucially, all the attacks require users to either install a malicious app from the SmartThings store or click a malicious link. Researchers at the University of Michigan have uncovered multiple design flaws in Samsung's SmartThings platform that could allow a malicious app to unlock doors, set home access codes, falsely set off smoke alarms, or put devices on vacation mode, among other attacks.
