Apple MacBooks Can Be Hacked Through The Battery

Re:Apple MacBooks Can Be Hacked Through The Battery by function_seven on Saturday July 23, 2011 @04:08AM (#2796475)

This attack wouldn't require physical access. The researcher analyzed a firmware update that Apple had sent out to reverse engineer the passwords, which he then used to poke around the code in the battery.

Theoretically, malware could get onto a machine by whatever means, then use the battery as a nasty hiding place, or target the battery itself.

EDIT: It should be noted that a second vulnerability will be needed to get code from the battery into the machine.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Apple MacBooks Can Be Hacked Through The Battery by tptacek on Saturday July 23, 2011 @07:29PM (#2798139)

I have zero familiarity with Charlie's research, but I have a (passing) familiarity with battery controllers, and the malware-hiding-on-battery thing doesn't add up to me. How does the battery access host memory? It's not like these things do DMA, right?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Apple MacBooks Can Be Hacked Through The Battery by function_seven on Sunday July 24, 2011 @04:09AM (#2798948)

That's the second vulnerability that would need to be found. Maybe it's locked down and we're okay. Or maybe the code in OSX that reads the battery's health and capacity has a buffer waiting to be overflowed.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Apple MacBooks Can Be Hacked Through The Battery by tptacek on Sunday July 24, 2011 @02:06PM (#2799925)

My impression is that the "second vulnerability" Charlie is talking about is the remote->kernel transit needed to allow you to talk to the battery in the first place.

[ Parent | on HN ]