- Researchers claim to have found a way to transform a Lenovo webcam into a badusb device
- Badusb is a vulnerability of the firmware that transforms a USB stick into a malicious writing weapon
- Lenovo has published an update of the firmware, so users should patcher now
Your device’s webcam can be reprogrammed to activate you and serve as a threatening actor, experts warned.
Eclypse researchers say that some Lenux webcam models fed by Linux can be transformed into so -called “badusb” devices.
The bug is now followed as CVE-2025-4371. He still has no serious score, but he has a nickname – Badcam.
Reflash Firmware
About a decade ago, the researchers found a way to reprogram the firmware of a USB device to act with maliciousness, letting it imitate keyboards, network cards or other devices. This allows him to run orders, install malware or steal data, and the biggest advantage compared to traditional malware is that he can successfully circumvent traditional security measures.
The vulnerability has been nicknamed “Badusb”, and was seen mistreated in the wild, when the actors of the end7 threat began to send armed USB records to organizations based in the United States. At one point, the FBI even began to warn people not to connect USB devices found in the office toilet, airports or received in the mailbox.
Now Eclypse says that the same thing can be done with certain USB webcams, built by Lenovo and fed by Linux.
“This allows distant attackers to secretly inject strikes and launch independent attacks on the host operating system,” said Eclypse The Hacker News.
“An attacker who earns the execution of remote code on a system can reflage the firmware of a webcam supplied with attached linux, reuse it to behave like a malicious hidden or to imitate additional USB devices,” explained the researchers.
“Once armed, the apparently harmless webcam can inject strikes, deliver useful malicious loads or serve as a deeper persistence, while maintaining the external appearance and basic functionality of a standard camera.
Growing remote access to a webcam requires the device to be compromised first, in which the attackers can do what they like anyway. However, users should be careful not to connect webcams to other people or buy such products in shaded internet stores.
The Lenovo 510 FHD and Lenovo Performance FHD FHD webcams would have been vulnerable, and a 4.8.0 version of firmware has been published to mitigate the threat.
