Energizer USB Battery Charger Taken Off Market For Security Vulnerability
Energizer has discontinued the sale of its Duo Charger/USB Charger due to a vulnerability in the Windows-based software that was supposed to be downloaded to support it.
The devices allowed users to charge nickel metal hydride batteries from either a wall socket or a USB connection. The documentation with the charger suggested users download software from www.energizer.com/usbcharger (the page has since been taken down). The software allowed the user to view the charging status from a computer.
A code was inserted in the software - Windows version only - that contained a backdoor allowing unauthorized remote system access. Simply removing the software won't completely remove the vulnerability, either. A file, Arucer.dll, may be left behind and can be found in the Windows system32 directory. The CERT Coordination Center said the file won't be executable once the software is removed, but suggested removing the file anyway.
Windows XP SP2 and later systems have a firewall that would alert the user the first time the software is used that the app was requesting permission to run. If the user did not grant permission for Arucer.dll to run, the system would have remained safe from the vulnerability.
The CERT warning gave directions on how to block or restrict network access, as well.
The devices allowed users to charge nickel metal hydride batteries from either a wall socket or a USB connection. The documentation with the charger suggested users download software from www.energizer.com/usbcharger (the page has since been taken down). The software allowed the user to view the charging status from a computer.
A code was inserted in the software - Windows version only - that contained a backdoor allowing unauthorized remote system access. Simply removing the software won't completely remove the vulnerability, either. A file, Arucer.dll, may be left behind and can be found in the Windows system32 directory. The CERT Coordination Center said the file won't be executable once the software is removed, but suggested removing the file anyway.
Windows XP SP2 and later systems have a firewall that would alert the user the first time the software is used that the app was requesting permission to run. If the user did not grant permission for Arucer.dll to run, the system would have remained safe from the vulnerability.
The CERT warning gave directions on how to block or restrict network access, as well.
