People who have LG TV warned to update immediately over 'attack' threat
Thousands of TV owners have been warned to update their sets NOW over fears of remote attack that raid accounts. A security update has been issued to LG smart TVs and monitors that stops hackers from taking full control of the gadgets.
Bitdefender has found vunerabilities in the LG WebOS TV operating system, it explained. "We have found several issues affecting WebOS versions 4 through 7 running on LG TVs," the report from the tech experts and cybersecurity boffins said.
"These vulnerabilities let us gain root access on the TV after bypassing the authorization mechanism. Although the vulnerable service is intended for LAN access only, Shodan, the search engine for Internet-connected devices, identified over 91,000 devices that expose this service to the Internet."
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LG has now issued a security patch for the vulnerability inside an update released on 22 March 2024. Customers are urged to download this update as soon as possible and Bitdefender has recommended to switch on 'automatic updates' in your settings too.
"LG was aware of the issue, and all necessary patches have now been completed," a spokesperson told TechRadar. "We can confirm LG smart TVs are safe and security is our highest priority. Customers are advised to enable automatic software updates."
Bitdefender has provided a list of all the LG TVs and monitors that are most vulnerable to the hack. These include webOS 4.9.7 - 5.30.40 running on LG43UM7000PLA and webOS 5.5.0 - 04.50.51 running on OLED55CXPUA as well as webOS 6.3.3-442 (kisscurl-kinglake) - 03.36.50 running on OLED48C1PUB.
It also includes webOS 7.3.1-43 (mullet-mebin) - 03.33.85 running on OLED55A23LA. To update your set, press the Settings button on your remote and then navigate to and select All Settings. Then navigate and select General, then navigate to and select About this TV.
Navigate to and select Download and install. Once the download is complete, power OFF for 10 seconds, then power ON to install the update.