"Attackers May Influence Security Equipment by Exploiting Flaws in Metal Detector Peripherals"
Security researchers with Cisco Talos recently discovered multiple vulnerabilities in a device from Garrett Metal Detectors that could be exploited to allow remote attackers to evade authentication requirements, alter metal detector setups, and execute arbitrary code on the device. The flaws exist in the Garrett iC module, which provides network access to the Garrett PD 6500i or Garrett MZ 6100 walk-through metal detectors commonly implemented at security checkpoints. The module might be used by attackers to remotely monitor metal detector statistics such as the activation status of the alarm and the number of people that have passed through the detector. In addition, they could change the device's sensitivity level, posing a significant security threat. Some of the vulnerabilities, tracked as CVE-2021-21901, CVE-2021-21903, CVE-2021-21905, and CVE-2021-21906, are described as stack-based overflow flaws that an attacker can exploit by sending a specially crafted packet to the device. Other flaws, tracked as CVE-2021-21904, CVE-2021-21907, CVE-2021-21908, and CVE-2021-21909, are directory traversal vulnerabilities that enable an attacker to conditionally read, write, and delete files on the device. This article continues to discuss the source, potential exploitation, impact, and disclosure of flaws that could impair the functionality of two widely used walk-through metal detectors made by Garrett.