CVE-2018-3873
Description
An exploitable buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the credentials handler of video-core's HTTP server of Samsung SmartThings Hub STH-ETH-250-Firmware version 0.20.17. The strncpy overflows the destination buffer, which has a size of 128 bytes. An attacker can send an arbitrarily long "secretKey" value in order to exploit this vulnerability.
AI Insight
LLM-synthesized narrative grounded in this CVE's description and references.
A buffer overflow in Samsung SmartThings Hub's video-core credentials handler allows an attacker to send an arbitrarily long secretKey value, potentially leading to remote code execution.
Vulnerability
The vulnerability resides in the credentials handler of the video-core HTTP server within the Samsung SmartThings Hub (STH-ETH-250) firmware version 0.20.17. The strncpy function is used to copy user-supplied secretKey values into a fixed-size stack buffer of 128 bytes without proper bounds checking, leading to a classic stack-based buffer overflow (CWE-120) [1].
Exploitation
An attacker with network access to the SmartThings Hub can send a specially crafted HTTP request to the video-core process, providing an arbitrarily long secretKey parameter in the JSON payload. No authentication is required to trigger the overflow, as the video-core service processes the request before any credential validation [1].
Impact
Successful exploitation allows an attacker to overwrite adjacent stack memory, leading to arbitrary code execution within the context of the video-core process. The attacker can gain full control over the hub, potentially compromising the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the device and connected smart home devices [1].
Mitigation
As of the publication date (2018-09-21), no official patch from Samsung has been disclosed in the available references. Users should monitor Samsung's advisory channels for firmware updates (beyond version 0.20.17). No workarounds are mentioned in the reference. The vulnerability is not listed in CISA KEV as of the knowledge cutoff [1].
AI Insight generated on May 26, 2026. Synthesized from this CVE's description and the cited reference URLs; citations are validated against the source bundle.
Affected products
2- Range: = 0.20.17
- Samsung/SmartThings Hub STH-ETH-250v5Range: Firmware version 0.20.17
Patches
0No patches discovered yet.
Vulnerability mechanics
No source-code context for this CVE — mechanics is only generated when we can read the actual fix diff. Without that, the four sections (root cause, attack vector, affected code, fix) would be speculation rather than analysis.
References
1- talosintelligence.com/vulnerability_reports/TALOS-2018-0555mitrex_refsource_MISC
News mentions
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