Hacking with a BBQ Lighter: The Unlikely Method to Gain Laptop Access

A new and unconventional method of hacking has emerged. David Buchanan, a well-known hardware hacker, has demonstrated how a simple BBQ lighter can be used to exploit vulnerabilities in a laptop, gaining root access in the process. This concept of hacking with a BBQ lighter has raised questions about security and the lengths to which hackers will go to uncover exploits.  

Buchanan’s journey began with a fundamental question: Can you gain root access using only a cigarette lighter? This inquiry led him to explore the creative methodologies employed by hackers, often characterized by lateral thinking. As Buchanan explained, “Before you can write an exploit, you need a bug.” But what happens when no traditional bugs exist? This is where “fault injection” comes into play—an approach that introduces anomalies into a system to uncover vulnerabilities.  

Fault injection can take many forms, including data corruption, power glitches, and electromagnetic pulses. In Buchanan’s case, he cleverly used a piezo-electric BBQ lighter to create the necessary electromagnetic interference. The lighter’s clicking mechanism proved instrumental in this unique hacking method.  

Hacking with a BBQ Lighter: Targeting a Vintage Laptop

To begin hacking with a BBQ lighter, Buchanan selected an Intel i3-powered Samsung S3520 laptop, a model dating back to 2011, as his target. Despite its age, the laptop was equipped with a desktop Linux installation, specifically Arch Linux, making it an ideal candidate for his tests.

Source: David Buchanan

After evaluating the device’s vulnerabilities, Buchanan identified the double data rate (DDR) bus, which connects dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) to the system, as the most susceptible component.  

To exploit this vulnerability, Buchanan focused on injecting faults into one of the 64 data queue (DQ) pins on the memory module. His strategy involved soldering a resistor and wire to DQ pin 26, effectively creating a simple antenna capable of capturing nearby electromagnetic interference.  

The Role of the BBQ Lighter in Hacking

The critical moment arrived when Buchanan discovered that the act of clicking the BBQ lighter near his makeshift antenna was sufficient to trigger the desired memory errors. This interaction between the lighter and the laptop’s hardware allowed him to introduce faults on demand without disrupting normal memory operations.  

The technical details of the exploit involve tricking the CPython interpreter into relinquishing a reference to a fake object. This clever manipulation ultimately enabled Buchanan to construct an arbitrary memory read/write primitive. While the specifics can be quite complex, the essence of this BBQ lighter hacking trick is that it elegantly demonstrates the innovative ways hackers can manipulate hardware vulnerabilities.  

Conclusion

After successfully gaining root access through the hacking with the BBQ lighter trick, Buchanan considered the practical implications of his findings. He pondered the possibility of creating a gaming cheat module, using a gaming RAM stick that could automate the process of exploiting the laptop.   

Buchanan’s experiment not only showcases the ingenuity of the hacking community but also emphasizes the necessity for the continued development of cybersecurity protocols. As this experiment demonstrates, the tools of hacking can be surprisingly simple, making it critical for cybersecurity professionals to keep up with the latest technologies.   

Source: Read More