Amcrest security vulnerability (HIGH) - CVE-2020-5735

KurtH

n3wb
Jan 19, 2022
12
18
Prescott Valley, AZ
Hello all. This has been out there since April of 2020 but I didn't see any posts here so in the name of information dissemination, I wanted to put it out there.

Although Amcrest cameras have a few acknowledged and unacknowledged security-related flaws that we all seem to put up with for the sake of running cheap IP cameras, they seemed to have made the official Government list of known vulnerabilities with CVE-2020-5735 (buffer overflow and out-of-bounds write issues). This cataloged vulnerability has also made the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency's (CISA) list of known exploited vulnerability list as well (Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog | CISA).

For those of us that are running Amcrest anything, if we're segregating and FW blocking this equipment at minimum, then this CVE shouldn't be an big concern (although you should still patch!). And go the extra Cyber Security mile and never expose your cameras/collectors to the internet (directly, port forwarded, or any other scheme that sounds safe).

In most cases, the fixed firmware version is not readily available for download. You must open a support case using your specific model/serial # and they'll provide a download link for your system/cameras. Again, the fixed firmware version is not listed on their website. So if you think you're implementing all the security patches by downloading the most recent firmware from their page (like I was), you are most likely mistaken.

I hope this helps!

Kurt

Reference links:
 
Good to know!

I caught a guy photographing the QR label on the bottom of one of my Amcrest Cameras this morning. Should I be concerned about an ability to now hack my camera?

- Mat
 
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Good to know!

I caught a guy photographing the QR label on the bottom of one of my Amcrest Cameras this morning. Should I be concerned about an ability to now hack my camera?

- Mat

Please see the vpn section in the notes ..
 
Good to know!

I caught a guy photographing the QR label on the bottom of one of my Amcrest Cameras this morning. Should I be concerned about an ability to now hack my camera?

- Mat

Hi Mat. Wired or wireless camera? In most cases, that QR code only provides easy access to the serial number (which is needed to add it to a smart phone or other system).

Kurt
 
I honestly fail to understand the reason for not posting the patch or integrating the same in the public release of new firmware???

How that helps the average person is beyond me . . .

It's like they want to drive up support calls where all of us know isn't something any serious company wants to do! :facepalm: You have to be ten kinds of stupid to force Joe Public to go out of their way to make a support call. All of this doesn't even address the fact the percentage of people who even go out of their way to update their systems is next to zero.

Why make it even harder for those willing to go that extra step??? :thumbdown:
 
I honestly fail to understand the reason for not posting the patch or integrating the same in the public release of new firmware???

I personally think it's to keep costs down/save them money. These cameras are cheap, relatively speaking...and that's why a majority of us are buying them. Most don't offer professional-grade options such as 802.1x authentication, US originated firmware upgrades, etc. Tracking, updating, and posting firmware when you're not forced to do so seems like it would be costly. Move to something like a Montavue or the like and you get many of those extras. I have a few Montavues running among all my Amcrests because of the authentication capabilities...but they were double the cost.

Just my $0.02

Kurt