Vulnerability Discovered in Solana Phones' Chip Could Lead to Attacks

A recently uncovered issue with a chip commonly used in smartphones, including the Solana Seeker designed for cryptocurrency, has been deemed unfixable. This vulnerability allows potential attackers to obtain full control and access to private keys stored on the device, as reported by crypto wallet manufacturer Ledger.

Key Takeaways

The MediaTek Dimensity 7300 chip, widely used in smartphones like Solana Seeker, has a critical security vulnerability.
Ledger's engineers demonstrated the vulnerability by exploiting the chip during its boot-up process, allowing for unauthorized control.
Storing private keys on affected devices poses a risk of theft.
The vulnerability cannot be patched via software updates since it is embedded in the chip's design.
MediaTek maintains that the chip was not designed for financial applications.

Vulnerability Discovered in Solana Phones' Chip Could Lead to Attacks

In a report released on Wednesday, Ledger shared its findings on the MediaTek Dimensity 7300 (MT6878) chip, revealing that the device's security measures were bypassed through an electromagnetic pulse attack during its initial boot-up phase. This incident poses significant risks for users who store their private keys on their smartphones, leading to the potential theft of their crypto assets.

Overview of the Vulnerability

Ledger conducted research that highlighted a crucial flaw in the MediaTek Dimensity 7300 chipset. Charles Christen and Léo Benito, Ledger’s security engineers, explained how they successfully gained complete control over smartphones equipped with this chip. They achieved this by utilizing electromagnetic pulses targeting the chip during the initial boot sequence.

Cryptocurrency wallets often depend on private keys, some of which users store on their phones. This means that if attackers manage to exploit this vulnerability, they could potentially extract private keys and access victims' wallets.

Wallet, Cybersecurity, Smartphone, Hacks

Christen and Benito emphasized, “There is simply no way to safely store and use one’s private keys on those devices.”

Unfixable Design Flaw

The vulnerability identified in the MediaTek chip is categorized as a fault injection flaw. What's concerning is that this issue cannot be resolved through a software update or patch, as it exists within the chip's silicon design. Christen and Benito pointed out that “users remain at risk, even if the vulnerability is revealed.”

Although the overall success rate of such an attack is relatively low, estimated between 0.1% and 1%, attackers could repeatedly attempt to exploit the flaw, and could eventually gain access within “only a few minutes.”

MediaTek's Stance

In response to Ledger's findings, MediaTek stated that electromagnetic fault injection attacks fall “out of scope” for the MT6878 chip. They clarified, “Like many standard microcontroller circuits, the MT6878 chipset is designed for consumer products, not intended for uses like finance or Hardware Security Modules (HSMs).”

Christen and Benito began their research in February, successfully exploiting the vulnerability by early May. They promptly reported their findings to MediaTek's security team, which then notified affected vendors.

Cointelegraph has reached out to MediaTek for further comments on this matter.

Magazine: Ethereum’s Fusaka Fork Explained for Dummies: What the Hell is PeerDAS?