[HN Gopher] Flipper Zero DarkWeb Firmware Bypasses Rolling Code ...
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       Flipper Zero DarkWeb Firmware Bypasses Rolling Code Security
        
       Author : lq9AJ8yrfs
       Score  : 58 points
       Date   : 2025-08-07 21:10 UTC (1 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.rtl-sdr.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.rtl-sdr.com)
        
       | lq9AJ8yrfs wrote:
       | flipper zero implementation of a variant [1] of the rolljam [2]
       | attack
       | 
       | [1] https://arxiv.org/abs/2210.11923 [2]
       | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10018934
        
         | IshKebab wrote:
         | Kind of insane that this works... Surely whoever implemented
         | this knew it was insecure? I honestly wouldn't have thought to
         | check for this vulnerability because... who would do that??
        
       | palata wrote:
       | > A consequence of this is that the original keyfob gets out of
       | sync, and will no longer function.
       | 
       | I always wonder about this: what is the consequence of that? Can
       | the user reset it, or does it have to be done by a retailer or
       | something?
        
         | brk wrote:
         | Depends on the implementation. Most times you just have to
         | click it a few times in a row. The receiver then realizes it
         | missed a few button presses and it re-syncs. I'm not sure what
         | that window is though, at some point it might get so out of
         | sync that the receiver ignores it and assumes it is a wrong
         | fob.
        
       | cakealert wrote:
       | Why are so many car manufacturers incapable of using cryptography
       | properly?
        
         | the_mitsuhiko wrote:
         | To some degree customers love it. It allows you to program your
         | own replacement key without having to go through the
         | manufacturer or an official dealer.
        
           | j1elo wrote:
           | No doubt they would charge $100 or more for just clicking a
           | button and having the equivalent of an NFC writer.
        
             | colechristensen wrote:
             | When my favorite quadruped knocked my keys into the trash I
             | had to get my car towed to the dealer for them to program
             | me a new key. One one hand, top notch security as it was
             | impossible to do any other way. On the other hand the total
             | to get this done was something like $500 after everything.
        
               | dylan604 wrote:
               | I did this to myself by placing my keys in a pocket of a
               | bag that I've never used before when returning to the
               | airport parking. I found the keys in the bag _after_
               | paying to have it re-keyed after paying for the tow from
               | the airport to the closest dealer.
        
           | IshKebab wrote:
           | What does? The article is very unclear about what exactly
           | this does.
        
             | the_mitsuhiko wrote:
             | The attacks to rolling code keys are well known but these
             | keys continue to exist. They allow you to pair a key
             | yourself to the car that you buy online. Particularly in
             | the US it's quite common that people buy used cars and then
             | another key online that they pair themselves.
             | 
             | You won't be able to do this for instance with VAG cars
             | that have KESSY. First of all the immobilizer is paired to
             | the key, secondly the only way to pair a new key to it is
             | via the manufacturer or a licensed dealership because you
             | need a blob from their central server. But the consequence
             | is that people feel like they are being fleeced when they
             | need another key, because it can cost you hundreds of
             | dollars to pair one.
             | 
             | In general these types of attacks are much harder in Europe
             | where immobilizers have a legal minimum standard that
             | manufacturers have to meet. On the other hand in the US
             | immobilizer are entirely optional, which has famously led
             | to KIA and Hyundai cars shipping without them and the Kia
             | Boys TikTok phenomenon.
        
         | tamimio wrote:
         | Car manufacturers are like automation/control manufacturers;
         | they existed before cybersecurity and never caught up to the
         | pace. If you ever audited any SCADA system, you will see
         | nightmares. For cars, some new models of popular brands (not
         | specifying any), you can access the CANbus from the headlight
         | where you can reprogram the ECM to your new key. It's that
         | simple to "own" a modern car.
        
         | sneak wrote:
         | They're not. There is AFAIK an ssh key infrastructure for
         | OnStar that's modern and well-run, for example.
         | 
         | Things like key fobs are most likely very incremental changes
         | on "this is the way we've always done it". These organizations
         | are behemoths and steer with all of the inertia of a
         | containership.
        
         | dylan604 wrote:
         | Proper security is a total pain in the ass, and makes things
         | nigh impossible to use in the manner people want to use them.
         | This naturally makes things more expensive to recover from
         | oopsies.
         | 
         | This is why YubiKeys will only ever work for people technical
         | enough to understand them. Normies will loose it at the first
         | chance, and then be locked out of everything. At that point,
         | YubiKeys will be banned by Congress from all of the people
         | writing in demanding something be done about their own
         | inabilities to not be an ID10T
        
       | tamimio wrote:
       | Cool, I was planning to get a spare car key, not anymore!
       | 
       | Also, glad I have one before they would ban it. It's a neat tool
       | that I have everything I want there, instead of having 4 fobs,
       | one garage remote, plenty of IR remotes, it's AIO. Plus I don't
       | have to pay fees to replace my lost fobs
        
         | imzadi wrote:
         | Sadly, it won't work as an extra key, because it causes the
         | original key to stop working.
        
           | tamimio wrote:
           | Welp, that's a bummer! Have you tried it?
        
             | Alejandro9R wrote:
             | It says in the article
        
       | xyst wrote:
       | cool, I needed a new car, thanks
        
       | hsbauauvhabzb wrote:
       | What practical use does this have? From my reading if I capture
       | an unlock signal, the car will not unlock for the owner, so
       | they'll press their remote a few times.
       | 
       | If I capture a lock signal, presumably I can instead prevent it
       | from locking. The only real world malicious action I can see is
       | being viable is to block the car lock, meaning the car is still
       | in an unlocked state, open the boot (which I'm guessing can be
       | done from the car dash anyway) then locking it afterwards?
        
       | Terr_ wrote:
       | [delayed]
        
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