webOS security gabs: Several LG TVs affected

Last November, Bitdefender Labs, a cybersecurity IT company, discovered several serious webOS security gabs in LG’s popular operating system that could potentially allow hackers to take over the entire smart home network. The electronics company responded promptly with an update to address the relevant vulnerabilities and mitigate the risks at an early stage.

The vulnerabilities discovered relate to the now older revisions of webOS 4 through to webOS 7 and could make over 90,000 devices vulnerable to attack by third parties via LAN connection without appropriate countermeasures. In particular, software updates released after March 22, 2024.

webOS security gabs: Which LG TVs are affected in detail?

According to the security experts, the following TVs are at risk:

• LG43UM7000PLA with webOS 4.9.7 – 5.30.40
• OLED55CXPUA with webOS 5.5.0 – 04.50.51
• OLED48C1PUB with webOS 6.3.3-442
• OLED55A23LA with webOS 7.3.1-43

Users of these TVs who regularly avoid updates, for example to bypass advertising in the menu or to retain the interface design, are at particular risk. Those affected are therefore strongly advised to update their smart TVs in order to continue to effectively protect the home network and prevent possible access by hackers who could compromise sensitive data or smart home devices.

Networks equipped with so-called IoT devices such as surveillance cameras or intelligent security systems are generally a popular target for cyber criminals. To this end, one security vulnerability after another is abused step by step in order to ultimately gain full system access and introduce malicious programs into the software.