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LG Smart TVs Had a Pre-Auth Root-Takeover Flaw: What Owners Should Do

Bitdefender reported a chain of flaws affecting certain LG webOS TVs. LG released updates before public disclosure; owners should check software for their exact model and region.
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Bitdefender disclosed a chain of four vulnerabilities affecting certain LG TVs running webOS 4–7: it could bypass an authorization prompt, create privileged access, and then use command-injection flaws to run commands as root or dbus. LG released fixes before the vulnerabilities were publicly reported in April 2024. Owners should install the software update currently offered for their exact TV model and region; the published examples are not a complete list of affected or fixed sets.

How the vulnerability chain worked

The reported issue was not a single flaw that automatically gave any nearby device control of every LG TV. Bitdefender described a sequence: CVE-2023-6317 bypassed an authorization prompt, after which separate command-injection vulnerabilities could be used through the service.

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  • CVE-2023-6317: an authorization-prompt bypass that could allow a privileged account to be created without entering the on-screen PIN.
  • CVE-2023-6318 and CVE-2023-6319: authenticated command-injection paths that the researchers said could reach root access.
  • CVE-2023-6320: an authenticated command-injection flaw that ran commands as the dbus user. Bitdefender described that account as having permissions similar to root.

The distinction matters: the prompt bypass supplied a route to privileged access, while the later flaws were separate steps in the reported chain. Bitdefender’s researchers summarized their result this way: “These vulnerabilities let us gain root access on the TV after bypassing the authorization mechanism.”

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Why “local network” does not mean internet exposure was impossible

The affected control service is used by LG’s ThinQ smartphone app and runs on ports 3000 and 3001. Bitdefender said it was intended for local-network access. In a 2024 Shodan observation, the researchers found more than 91,000 devices exposing the service to the internet. That is a historical observation reported by Bitdefender—not a current count of vulnerable TVs, and not evidence that every device counted was successfully exploited.

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For a home user, the practical network check is whether the TV’s control service has been made reachable from outside the home network. Do not configure internet-facing access to the TV, and review your router for any inbound port-forwarding rules for ports 3000 or 3001. The report does not establish that internet access was necessary in every case; its intended service context was the LAN.

Models and software examples in Bitdefender’s report

Bitdefender listed the following vulnerable model-and-software combinations. They are examples, not an exhaustive inventory of affected TVs or a complete list of fixed versions.

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A TV that is not listed should not be assumed unaffected: the examples do not cover every model, region, or software build. Likewise, matching a listed model alone does not establish that the TV is still vulnerable if it has since received an update.

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What LG TV owners should do now

  1. Find the exact model and installed software version. Check the TV’s Settings for its model information and software version. Menu labels and locations can vary by model and region.
  2. Check for a software update on the TV. Open Settings and look for the software update option, then install any update offered for that set. The report says LG released automatic and manual updates, but does not provide a complete fixed-version table by model and region.
  3. Confirm model-specific support information. If the TV reports that it is up to date, compare its installed version with current LG support information for the exact model and region. The available vulnerability report does not establish a single fixed version that applies to every TV.
  4. Check router exposure. Remove any inbound forwarding rules that make ports 3000 or 3001 reachable from the internet. The service was intended for LAN use, not public exposure.

If your TV cannot find an update, or the support information is unclear, contact LG support with the model number and installed software version. Do not rely on a model-family name or a version from another region to decide whether your particular set has the fix.

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Disclosure and patch timeline

Bitdefender’s disclosure timeline records that it notified LG on November 1, 2023, and LG confirmed the issues on November 15, 2023. LG released patches on March 22, 2024. Bitdefender published its report on April 9, 2024; the report page was updated on April 18, 2024. In other words, the public report described flaws for which LG had already released updates.

The exact fixed firmware for every model and region is not established in the available information. The safest way to determine the status of an individual TV is to check the current update and support information for that exact set.

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