Hackers are actively targeting two zero-day vulnerabilities discovered in PTZOptics pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) live streaming cameras, which are widely used in various critical sectors, including industrial, healthcare, business conferences, government, and courtroom environments.
Identified as CVE-2024-8956 and CVE-2024-8957, these vulnerabilities were uncovered by GreyNoise in April 2024 after their AI-powered threat detection tool, Sift, detected unusual activity on its honeypot network that did not align with known threats.
The investigation revealed attempts to exploit the camera’s CGI-based API and the embedded ‘ntp_client’ to execute command injections, highlighting the significant security risks associated with these devices.
CVE-2024-8956 pertains to a weak authentication issue in the camera’s ‘lighthttpd’ web server, which allows unauthorized users to access the CGI API without an authorization header.
This vulnerability exposes sensitive information, including usernames, MD5 password hashes, and network configurations, making it an attractive target for attackers. The second vulnerability, CVE-2024-8957, arises from insufficient input sanitization in the ‘ntp.addr’ field of the ‘ntp_client’ binary, enabling attackers to execute remote commands through specially crafted payloads.
The successful exploitation of these flaws could result in complete control over the cameras, the deployment of bots, and the potential disruption of video feeds, posing a serious threat to the confidentiality and integrity of the systems relying on these devices. In the wake of these discoveries, GreyNoise collaborated with VulnCheck to ensure responsible disclosure to the affected vendors.
Notably, devices affected by these vulnerabilities include NDI-enabled cameras based on the Hisilicon Hi3516A V600 SoC V60, V61, and V63, which run outdated VHD PTZ camera firmware versions prior to 6.3.40. While PTZOptics issued a security update on September 17, certain older models like the PT20X-NDI-G2 and PT12X-NDI-G2 were not patched due to reaching their end-of-life, raising concerns about the security of older devices still in use.
Subsequent investigations by GreyNoise indicated that newer models, such as the PT20X-SE-NDI-G3 and PT30X-SE-NDI-G3, also lacked necessary patches, further broadening the scope of affected devices.
The cybersecurity firm suspects that a more extensive range of camera models could be compromised, potentially due to vulnerabilities in the SDK used by the manufacturer, ValueHD/VHD Corporation.
As the situation evolves, users of PTZ cameras are advised to consult their device vendors regarding the availability of firmware updates addressing CVE-2024-8956 and CVE-2024-8957 to safeguard against potential exploits.
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