Tag Archives: Franco Venturi (K4VZ)

KiwiSDR: Root access through project developer’s backdoor

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Franco (K4VZ) , who writes:

Just a quick note to let you and the SWLing post readers know about the news of a backdoor in the KiwiSDR software that for years “gave root to project developer”.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/07/for-years-a-backdoor-in-popular-kiwisdr-product-gave-root-to-project-developer/

For years, a backdoor in popular KiwiSDR product gave root to project developer

Users are rattled after learning their devices and networks were exposed.

KiwiSDR is hardware that uses a software-defined radio to monitor transmissions in a local area and stream them over the Internet. A largely hobbyist base of users does all kinds of cool things with the playing-card-sized devices. For instance, a user in Manhattan could connect one to the Internet so that people in Madrid, Spain, or Sydney, Australia, could listen to AM radio broadcasts, CB radio conversations, or even watch lightning storms in Manhattan.

On Wednesday, users learned that for years, their devices had been equipped with a backdoor that allowed the KiwiSDR creator—and possibly others—to log in to the devices with administrative system rights. The remote admin could then make configuration changes and access data not just for the KiwiSDR but in many cases to the Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone Black, or other computing devices the SDR hardware is connected to.

A big trust problem

Signs of the backdoor in the KiwiSDR date back to at least 2017. The backdoor was recently removed with no mention of the removal under unclear circumstances. But despite the removal, users remain rattled since the devices run as root on whatever computing device they’re connected to and can often access other devices on the same network.

“It’s a big trust problem,” a user with the handle xssfox told me. “I was completely unaware that there was a backdoor, and it’s hugely disappointing to see the developer adding backdoors in and actively using them without consent.” [Click here to continue reading the full article…]

Thank you for sharing this, Franco (and many other readers who’ve recently shared this article.

I’ve always been a big fan of the KiwiSDR network and the receiver so, of course, this is disappointing news. It sounds as if there’s no evidence the developer did anything nefarious through this root access backdoor, but they were also well aware it existed. That is, without question, a huge security issue.

The KiwiSDR developer comments here on the SWLing Post so my hope is that, perhaps, they can shed some light on this story in our comments section.

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New Dragonfly wide band SDR with 32 MHz bandwidth

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Franco (K4VZ), who writes:

Last night I came across a new SDR receiver from China called ‘RX-666’. On paper its specs are interesting: 16bit ADC, max sample rate 32MHz (in theory one could sample the whole LW+MW+SW bands at the same time), USB 3 interface, and tunable from 1kHz to 1.8GHz.

Its design seems to be a “derivative” of Oscar Steila’s (IK1XPV) BBRF103 SDR – see this post from Oscar – it looks like they upgraded the ADC, made use of a better voltage regulator, and moved to a 4-layer PCB (the original was a 2-layer PCB).

Unfortunately (for Linux people like me) they only have proprietary drivers running on Windows.

Besides the AliExpress store, I saw it is also available on eBay – the AliExpress vendor has two versions, a cheaper one with a ‘standard crystal’, and a more expensive one with an ‘upgraded crystal’; I messaged them earlier to find out what is the difference between the two, but I haven’t heard back yet.

I thought some of those readers of the Post who are interested in capturing large parts of the radio spectrum to decode later might want to look into this SDR receiver.

Thanks for the info on this SDR, Franco. I was not familiar with it. A 16 bit wide band SDR with a 32 MHz working bandwidth is most impressive–I’m sure FM DXers will be following this closely. I’m glad they’re using a USB 3.0 port but am very curious if it can even handle the amount of data should a user initiate a really wide spectrum recording. Perhaps recordings have capped bandwidths?

As a side note, someone should tell the manufacturer that their model number “RX-666” is…well…a culturally sensitive number!

Post Readers: Please comment if you’re familiar with this SDR.

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QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo 2020

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Franco Venturi (K4VZ), who writes:

I just found out that the podcast ‘QSO today’ has organized a ‘Virtual Ham Expo’ (https://www.qsotodayhamexpo.com/).

The current list of speakers and their topics looks interesting (click here to read), and I thought you and other readers of the SWLing Post might be interested as well.

Thank you so much for the tip, Franco. I’ve been meaning to post an announcement about this online event.  It seems to have attracted a lot of vendors and at least early bird registration for the show is free. Vendors do pay fees to host virtual booths at the events.

There are a number of great presentations in the line-up, so I would highly encourage readers to check out the presentation schedule and register for the expo.

Click here to register for the 2020 QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo!

 

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