IEMEK Journal of Embedded Systems and Applications (대한임베디드공학회논문지)

Institute of Embedded Engineering of Korea (대한임베디드공학회)
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Analysis and Countermeasure for BadUSB Vulnerability

BadUSB 취약점 분석 및 대응 방안

  • Received : 2017.08.30
  • Accepted : 2017.10.27
  • Published : 2017.12.31
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Abstract

As the BadUSB is a vulnerability, in which a hacker tampers the firmware area of a USB flash drive. When the BadUSB device is plugged into the USB port of a host system, a malicious code acts automatically. The host system misunderstands the act of the malicious behavior as an normal behaviour for booting the USB device, so it is hard to detect the malicious code. Also, an antivirus software can't detect the tampered firmware because it inspects not the firmware area but the storage area. Because a lot of computer peripherals (such as USB flash drive, keyboard) are connected to host system with the USB protocols, the vulnerability has a negative ripple effect. However, the countermeasure against the vulnerability is not known now. In this paper, we analyze the tampered area of the firmware when a normal USB device is changed to the BadUSB device and propose the countermeasure to verify the integrity of the area when the USB boots. The proposed method consists of two procedures. The first procedure is to verify the integrity of the area which should be fixed even if the firmware is updated. The verification method use hashes, and the target area includes descriptors. The second procedure is to verify the integrity of the changeable area when the firmware is updated. The verification method use code signing, and the target area includes the function area of the firmware. We also propose the update protocol for the proposed structure and verify it to be true through simulation.

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