Hacked Kid’s Toy Opens Garage Doors in Seconds

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Excuse me for a moment while I go check my garage door opener. :eek:

On Thursday, Kamkar revealed a new tool he’s created called OpenSesame, which he says can open any garage door that uses an insecure “fixed code” system for its wireless communication with a remote. Built from a discontinued Mattel toy called the IM-ME, altered with a cheap antennae and an open source hardware attachment, Kamkar’s less-than-$100 device can try every possible combination for these garage doors and open them in seconds.
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I don't think I've ever even seen a fixed-code garage door. This would only be impressive if it was able to brute force rolling codes.
 
Brak710 said:
I don't think I've ever even seen a fixed-code garage door. This would only be impressive if it was able to brute force rolling codes.
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While maybe not "impressive", it does show a huge vulnerability.

As for cracking rolling codes, all you would have to know is the frequency and how many bits the code is.

Those rolling codes are only going to be secure against other garage door openers that do the same thing and from code grabbers.

They are still set to a single code until the next time the owner uses the remote at which time the code will change on both the remote and the receiver.

You could have a more sophisticated remote that operates much like an RSA key.. but then what happens if the remote gets out of sync with the receiver?
 
Brak710 said:
I don't think I've ever even seen a fixed-code garage door. This would only be impressive if it was able to brute force rolling codes.
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They are pretty old tech. I don't think they've even been on sale in the US for quite some time. I suppose if you have a really old house that came with a very old garage door opener you could conceivably have one but I would think the motors or electronics on most would have died by now.
 
While I find this interesting, there is nothing neater to me than multi-purposing tech, this does not really worry me too much. I have something just as capable of allowing me access into someone locked home, it's called a rock.
 
doho7744 said:
While I find this interesting, there is nothing neater to me than multi-purposing tech, this does not really worry me too much. I have something just as capable of allowing me access into someone locked home, it's called a rock.[/QUOTE

Using a rock generally makes a glass shattering noise though.

Most people are not going to pay attention to a garage door opening. Glass shattering on the other hand will probably raise suspicion.
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Not only fixed code openers on houses, but apartment and business gates. Some of them with huge numbers of remote openers can't be handled by the rolling code openers (or rolling code openers were not made for that environment).

Also, car homelink transmitters store one code from a rolling code remote and are then programmed to the opener. I doubt they are the 12bit code that this guy can hack, but it's still low hanging fruit as far as hackers are concerned.
 
Yeah I was thinking apartment/condo complexes with gates as well.
 
Dwango said:
They are pretty old tech. I don't think they've even been on sale in the US for quite some time. I suppose if you have a really old house that came with a very old garage door opener you could conceivably have one but I would think the motors or electronics on most would have died by now.
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When I bought my house 20 years ago, it had a fixed code opener, but they had lost all the remotes, so I bought a new receiver/remote that had a rolling code. I don't think they even sold a replacement receiver back then with a fixed code.

After 18 more years, I replaced the opener (and door) because the old one was getting so bad it practically shook the entire house when the door opened :) The installers where surprised the opener was still working because it was so old. Has a more advanced rolling code, so I'm not too concerned.
 
This is scary news as hell. Think about it.

Could open garage and steal everything there.

Could open garage and open door enter house and do bad things to your wife.

Could open garage and open door enter house and steal everything as your tied up wife and yourself watch. Then do bad things to your wife and when they are finished kill you.

I am not sure what I want to do now.

Remember!!!!! After they open your garage door all they have to do is CLOSE IT, and as Gun's N Roses says. My Way Your Way Anything Goes!!!!!
 
In my teenage years (20+ years ago) I knew of this vulnerability and considered modding a controller to try every combination as a prank. I never got around to doing this however..
 
Hahha. Funny. I remember seeing a bunch of these, in my network security class, toy's and other low tech hacking into high tech systems....like your cars computer.
 
nutzo said:
When I bought my house 20 years ago, it had a fixed code opener, but they had lost all the remotes, so I bought a new receiver/remote that had a rolling code. I don't think they even sold a replacement receiver back then with a fixed code.

After 18 more years, I replaced the opener (and door) because the old one was getting so bad it practically shook the entire house when the door opened :) The installers where surprised the opener was still working because it was so old. Has a more advanced rolling code, so I'm not too concerned.
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My Genie screw-drive is 23 years old and shows no sign of stopping any time soon, and it's used at least once or twice a day.
 
TechLarry said:
My Genie screw-drive is 23 years old and shows no sign of stopping any time soon, and it's used at least once or twice a day.
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It was old when I bought the house, so it was probably over 35 years old when I replace it.
It was Genie screw-drive, and they where one of the most reliable openers ever made. I doubt my new one will last even half as long. But hopefully I'll be retired by then and living somewhere else :)
 
nutzo said:
It was old when I bought the house, so it was probably over 35 years old when I replace it.
It was Genie screw-drive, and they where one of the most reliable openers ever made. I doubt my new one will last even half as long. But hopefully I'll be retired by then and living somewhere else :)
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All the new openers are crap.

Seriously. Pop open the metal can housing. All you'll find are plastic gears flimsily mounted on plastic stands with plastic adjustment screws operating plastic worm gears. I was stunned when I opened one that was expensive at what cheap crap was inside.
 
TechLarry said:
My Genie screw-drive is 23 years old and shows no sign of stopping any time soon, and it's used at least once or twice a day.
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Yeah, those bastards were built to last forever. Sad how cheaply they're made now.
 
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