Chinese Robot Vacuums Discovered with Exploitable Hacking Weaknesses

In a recent inspection by the Korea Consumer Agency, four out of six robot vacuum models surveyed were found to originate from Chinese brands. Three of these Chinese brands - Narwal, Ecovacs, and Dreame - were discovered to have security flaws that could potentially expose users' homes and personal information to outsiders.

The Dreame X50 Ultra was found to have a significant vulnerability, allowing hackers to remotely activate its camera. This means that anyone with malicious intent could potentially watch real-time footage from users' homes.

Another concerning issue was discovered with the Narwal Freo Z Ultra. The app associated with this model lacked proper authentication, making it possible for third parties to access photos taken during cleaning sessions.

The Ecovacs model, on the other hand, has a flaw that allows outsiders connected to the cloud to plant malicious files directly into a user's mobile photo album. With a user's private code or ID, outsiders could also enter the cloud system of the Narwal Freo Z Ultra and Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni and view stored photos and videos without further verification.

If shared permissions are enabled on the Dreame X50 Ultra, outsiders can bypass restrictions and watch real-time footage. Moreover, Dreame's product lacks sufficient safeguards for personal data, putting names, phone numbers, and other details at risk of leakage.

However, all affected companies (Narwal, Ecovacs, Dreame) have since patched the issues found by the Korea Consumer Agency.

In contrast, models from Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics were rated as having stronger protections. These included solid access controls, anti-tampering features, and secure password systems, according to the Korea Consumer Agency.

Despite the security concerns, the three Chinese brands are popular in Korea due to their lower prices compared to competitors. The search results do not contain information about the main sponsors of the inspection of robot vacuum products by the Korea Consumer Agency that discovered these security gaps in the Chinese brands Narwal, Ecovacs, and Dreame.