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Vulnerability record · CVE-2018-20785 · published 23 February 2019

CVE-2018-20785: Neatorobotics botvac d4 connected firmware vulnerability

Neatorobotics · Botvac D4 Connected Firmware

Secure boot bypass and memory extraction can be achieved on Neato Botvac Connected 2.2.0 devices. During startup, the AM335x secure boot feature decrypts and executes firmware. Secure boot can be bypassed by starting with certain commands to the USB serial port. Although a power cycle occurs, this does not completely reset the chip: memory contents are still in place. Also, it restarts into a boot menu that enables XMODEM upload and execution of an unsigned QNX IFS system image, thereby completing the bypass of secure boot. Moreover, the attacker can craft custom IFS data and write it to unused memory to extract all memory contents that had previously been present. This includes the original firmware and sensitive information such as Wi-Fi credentials.

7.4 CVSS 3.0 High EPSS 0.47% · top 62.2%
7.4CVSS 3.0 base score, v2 4.4
0.47%EPSS exploitation probability, 30 days
NoNot in CISA KEV
7Affected product versions listed by NVD
2References, 2 tagged exploit
17 Jun 2026Last modified by NVD

Description

Secure boot bypass and memory extraction can be achieved on Neato Botvac Connected 2.2.0 devices. During startup, the AM335x secure boot feature decrypts and executes firmware. Secure boot can be bypassed by starting with certain commands to the USB serial port. Although a power cycle occurs, this does not completely reset the chip: memory contents are still in place. Also, it restarts into a boot menu that enables XMODEM upload and execution of an unsigned QNX IFS system image, thereby completing the bypass of secure boot. Moreover, the attacker can craft custom IFS data and write it to unused memory to extract all memory contents that had previously been present. This includes the original firmware and sensitive information such as Wi-Fi credentials.

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected products

7 vulnerable configurations from NVD's CPE data, grouped by vendor and product.

References

LinkTags
https://media.ccc.de/v/2018-124-pinky-brain-are-taking-over-the-world-with-vacuum-cleaners#t=745 ExploitThird Party Advisory
https://media.ccc.de/v/2018-124-pinky-brain-are-taking-over-the-world-with-vacuum-cleaners#t=745 ExploitThird Party Advisory

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Related vulnerabilities

Same products first, then exploited flaws of the same weakness class.

9.8CVE-2018-19442Neatorobotics botvac connected firmware memory buffer overflow vulnerabilityA Buffer Overflow in Network::AuthenticationClient::VerifySignature in /bin/astro in Neato Botvac Connected 2.2.0 allows a remote attacker to execute…EPSS 7.5%8.1CVE-2018-18638Neatorobotics botvac connected firmware os command injection vulnerabilityA command injection vulnerability in the setup API in the Neato Botvac Connected 2.2.0 allows network attackers to execute arbitrary commands via she…EPSS 2.8%7.5CVE-2018-17176Neatorobotics botvac d4 connected firmware authentication bypass by capture-replay vulnerabilityA replay issue was discovered on Neato Botvac Connected 2.2.0 devices. Manual control mode requires authentication, but once recorded, the authentica…EPSS 1.0%5.3CVE-2018-17178Neatorobotics botvac d4 connected firmware vulnerabilityAn issue was discovered on Neato Botvac Connected 2.2.0 devices. They execute unauthenticated manual drive commands (sent to /bin/webserver on port 8…EPSS 0.68%4.7CVE-2018-19441Neatorobotics botvac connected firmware vulnerabilityAn issue was discovered in Neato Botvac Connected 2.2.0. The GenerateRobotPassword function of the NeatoCrypto library generates insufficiently rando…EPSS 0.30%2.4CVE-2018-17177Neatorobotics botvac d4 connected firmware inadequate encryption strength vulnerabilityAn issue was discovered on Neato Botvac Connected 2.2.0 and Botvac 85 1.2.1 devices. Static encryption is used for the copying of so-called "black bo…EPSS 0.17%

Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database (record CVE-2018-20785), CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS (scores of 2026-09-27). This page is refreshed as NVD updates the record.