Tesla jailbreak enabled by unpatchable hardware flaw

Researchers from Technische Universität Berlin have reportedly found a way to "jailbreak" Tesla vehicles, unlocking features typically requiring in-car purchases and running arbitrary software on the vehicle's infotainment system. The implications of this hack are significant, as it could potentially allow anyone with physical access to a Tesla to gain control of the vehicle and access its data. The researchers were able to exploit an unpatchable flaw in the vehicle's AMD processor to achieve this.

Jailbreaking Teslas:

Researchers from Technische Universität Berlin have jailbroken Tesla vehicles, enabling them to access features that are usually locked behind in-car purchases.

They plan to reveal their detailed findings on August 9 at the 2023 Black Hat USA conference.

The hack unlocked additional connectivity functions, faster acceleration, rear heated seats, and the ability to run arbitrary software on the car's Linux-based infotainment system.

Implications of the Jailbreak:

The jailbreak could allow hackers to access Tesla's hardware-protected keys used for vehicle authentication and decrypt a vehicle's internal storage, revealing personal user data.

Anyone with physical access to a Tesla could potentially take control of the vehicle and access all of its data.

Tesla owners could gain control of the car's software and information, potentially transferring its identity to a new model without Tesla's involvement.

The hack could also simplify repairs, raising possible right-to-repair concerns.

The Technique behind the Hack:

The jailbreak exploits an unpatchable flaw in Tesla's AMD processor.

Researchers used inexpensive, readily available parts to alter the power flow to the system in a voltage fault injection attack.

They disrupted and reverse-engineered the initial boot-up code to gain root privileges.

Previous Similar Attacks:

In April, the same researchers used a similar attack to bypass AMD's firmware TPM in PCs, which could potentially neutralize BitLocker and remove an important security feature.

This technique could potentially render Windows 11's most controversial system requirement irrelevant.

Voltage fault injection was successfully used to compromise hardware-based security on AMD server CPUs in 2021 and Intel's Software Guard Extensions in 2020.