Root access via exposed UART boot interruption
Published Aug 13, 2025 · Updated Aug 13, 2025
Improper physical access control in INSTAR 2K+ and 4K Cameras 3.11.1 Build 1124 allows physically proximate attackers to gain root access. An exposed UART header on the camera PCB accepts serial input during startup, and U-Boot permits interruption and unrestricted boot-argument changes. Physical access and a USB-to-UART adapter are required; adding init=/bin/sh and resuming boot bypasses authentication and starts a root shell.
Summary
What happened
Improper physical access control in INSTAR 2K+ and 4K Cameras 3.11.1 Build 1124 allows physically proximate attackers to gain root access. An exposed UART header on the camera PCB accepts serial input during startup, and U-Boot permits interruption and unrestricted boot-argument changes. Physical access and a USB-to-UART adapter are required; adding init=/bin/sh and resuming boot bypasses authentication and starts a root shell.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-8762
- Published
- Aug 13, 2025
- Updated
- Aug 13, 2025
- Vendor
- INSTAR Deutschland GmbH
- Product
- INSTAR 4K Cameras
- Classifications
- CWE-284, CWE-1263, T1059.004
- Attack vector
- physical
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 13, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 13, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=3.11.1 Build 1124
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- Exposed UART root-shell procedurefunctional · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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