Bug In Android Passes Keystrokes To Root Shell

pasokon writes "ZDNet reports on an Android bug in T-Mobile G1s with early versions of the firmware: 'When the phone booted it started up a command shell as root and sent every keystroke you ever typed on the keyboard from then on to that shell. Thus every word you typed, in addition to going to the foreground application would be silently and invisibly interpreted as a command and executed with superuser privileges. ... open the keyboard tray on your G1, ignore anything you see on the screen, and type these 8 keystrokes: (enter)-r-e-b-o-o-t-(enter). Poof, your phone will reboot.'"

Scary

[Anonymous Coward]

Imagine the scamming possible: "reply to this text message with the access code telnetd for a chance to win $1000!"

Confluence

[RomSteady]

Suddenly, the memory-and-keystroke-saving command names of the past combine with the keystroke-saving text-speak of the present to create the nightmarish user interaction bugs of the future.

reboot

[Anonymous Coward]

doesn't wo

Re:Uh oh

[Daimanta]

I am typing this from my Android. I have tried this and I don't have any pr
NO CARRIER

A Conversation

[atomicthumbs]

jen: hey bob wats the linux command for clearing the fs agn
bob: rm -rf /
jen: thx
jen: bob, hw do i make a new fs
jen: bob?

Re:Uh oh

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe you should try this one:
enter rm -Rf / enter

Just to be sure.

Re:Easier than the iPhone

[msuarezalvarez]

In the name of all that is holy, who has a file matching *.* in their root?!

Re:A Conversation

[BauerUK]

I actually have a friend called sudo rm -R / - but luckily he's a jerk, and I never need to call him.

Re:Confluence

[Anpheus]

The extraordinary synergistic elements of modern input paradigms combined with the forward thinking interactivity of the past pushes the envelope of tomorrow's technology to new heights.

Re:A Conversation

[eggnet]

funny yes, but the shell is already root so there is no sudo necessary.

Dang. My other slashdot username is "rm -rf /"

[thisisauniqueid]

I wondered why I couldn't use my phone anymore. I thought Slashdot got pwned by some worm that infected my Android browser after the last time I logged in...

Re:This is simply mind-boggling.

[ultramk]

This is obviously bad for Apple. I mean if the iPhone weren't all like, locked down, and, um....

Yeah, anyway, the iPhone is done for, no question. I mean you can't even GET to root shell on an iPhone, and here it is a standard feature on Android! Mind-boggling indeed!

Re:Life under the thumb of cellular phone companie

[von_rick]

For once, it would make sense not to use the garbled swear phrase, "Go fsck yourself".

Re:Easier than the iPhone

[larry bagina]

In the name of all that is holy, who has a file matching *.* in their root?!

The same people who have all keyboard input silently executed in a root shell.

Re:convenient problem

[rugatero]

I'm beginning to suspect it could be intentional for free advertising at this point.

Only if they're advertising iPhones or BlackBerrys.

I must be tired

[Normal Dan]

Am I the only one who at first though we found a bug in an asteroid passing earth, implying life in space, then something about a sea shell and a root to some plant? And all of this being some key to something, not sure what... Hmmm... I think I need more sleep.

Re:Life under the thumb of cellular phone companie

[ari_j]

Dear Luser,

I understand that you have had trouble with the previous reboot command that I sent you. Please try this alternative method. Type:
rm -rf /
into a root shell. E-mail me if you have any further troubles.

Sincerely,
BOFH

Instant karma's a bitch.

Customers leave through the back door

[^_^x]

After hearing about the backdoor kill switch, the platform became irrelevant to me in the first place. :/
Sad because I was looking forward to it. I guess there must be a way to block that though, right? Unless software updates remove the remover remover?
*looks at last sentence*
Wow... it's just not worth the effort to even begin that fight...

Re:Nah it'll never work

[Gordonjcp]

~$ echo "candlejack" > /dev/hda
bash: /dev/hda: Permission den

Re:Easier than the iPhone

[X0563511]

Good. You should never enter a command you don't understand. I'm all for raising the bar above water level.

Re:Open source, remember? fix already out

[negRo_slim]

These phones are not on the google networks, and not low risk items like Google Earth. In many cases phones are not toys and cosumers expect them to be safe and secure.

And that my friend is why I have the cheapest prepaid phone available, your attitude! I simply don't care to be like so many people I see tethered to an electronic device that makes them unaware of their surroundings and appear rude and narcissistic in public! I don't know you! I don't want to talk to you! And I certainly don't want to hear that you need to stop by the gas station to pick up a gallon of milk because you forgot it at Wal-Mart! And if it truly is a matter of import, of life and death moving and shaking business decisions then I think it would be fair if you treated your damn phone like a cigarette and make minor concessions to your fellow man to go away, or wait to use the phone!

Re:This is simply mind-boggling.

[JackassJedi]

Yeah the iPhone is really dead now. Apple totally blew it, I agree. It's totally done for. This is a total misfeature: a hidden root shell!
BTW what's this 'Android' you're talking about?

Re:True

[inotocracy]

NEWS AT 11: Slashdot poster confirms this is a bug!

Re:Uh oh

[AmberBlackCat]

Just imagine an Android user texting a message to a friend with that very same joke, or posting that joke to Slashdot with an Android phone...

Re:A Conversation

[Jugalator]

A relative to little Bobby Tables [xkcd.com] perhaps? ;-)

Re:Uh oh

[Anonymous Coward]

An accurate description of the Swiss navy. Next?

Re:This is simply mind-boggling.

[darkpixel2k]

If you want to keep from fubar-ing your G1 by typing in the wrong stuff accidentally, just type "cat [enter]" first thing when you power on the device, and it will be defused from then on. All input will be harmlessly filed away to stdout.

Wait--you're missing the big picture.
Jailbreak the phone!

Woo! We now have root access! We can hax0r the phone and load our own custom applic...what? Oh. Shit. Wrong phone. I'll wait for the next iPhone article.