Remote Control Vulnerabilities Found In Samsung, Roku Smart TVs

Your Samsung or Roku smart TV could be vulnerable to hackers, but don’t panic

By Kris Wouk February 8, 2018

samsung roku tv remote control vulnerabilities tcl 50 1080p 50fs3800 smart led 2015 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

If your smart TV suddenly begins changing channels on its own, you might be sitting on the remote, or — according to a recent report from Consumer Reports — it could be a hacker. The publication tested multiple smart TVs and says it found vulnerabilities in some Samsung smart TVs as well as models powered by the Roku TV platform. Fortunately, while both could pose problems, neither vulnerability could allow an attacker access to any sensitive data like your credit card information.

In the case of Roku TV, Consumer Reports tested a TCL model (the specific model is not mentioned), but says that the vulnerability is present in other TVs. It says the Roku platform has a remote control API that is turned on by default, potentially allowing someone from thousands of miles away to change channels, adjust the volume, or play offensive content. In order for this to actually happen, you would need to be using a mobile device or laptop on the same network as the Roku device, then accidentally visit a malicious website or click a link in a phishing email, giving an attacker remote access to the system.

Roku, however, says that Consumer Reports is making a big deal out of something much smaller. In a blog post titled “Consumer Reports Got It Wrong,” Roku’s vice president of trust engineering, Gary Ellison, says that Consumer Reports’ take is a “mischaracterization of a feature,” and says that there is no security risk for customers. The post also mentions that if you want to be extra safe, you can turn this API off by setting Remote Control to “disabled” in the Advanced System Settings.

Additionally, a Roku representative told Digital Trends: “Roku takes security very seriously. There is no security risk to our customers’ accounts or to the Roku platform as stated by Consumer Reports.”

In the case of Samsung TVs, the vulnerability is very specific, and Consumer Reports says it was “harder to spot.” In this case, the user would have had to previously used a remote control app for the TV on a mobile device, then open a malicious website using that same device, giving an attacker remote control of the same features that the remote control app would have been able to control. Samsung says it plans to change this API to eliminate this vulnerability in a 2018 update. The company hasn’t given exact timing, but says the update will be released “as soon as technically feasible.”

In the meantime, this doesn’t seem to be enough of a reason to stay away from buying products from either of these companies. Samsung makes some very impressive TVs and the Roku Ultra remains our current top pick for the best streaming device available, continuing to add features and channels as time goes by.

Even so, this type of thing is always a concern, so we’ve reached out to both Roku and Samsung on this matter and will update this story as we receive the companies’ responses.

Update: Added response from Roku.

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