# CVE-2023-3028: Improper backend communication allows access and manipulation of the telemetry data

> Attackers can access and manipulate fleet telemetry or inject CAN bus data due to unauthenticated MQTT communication in HopeChart telematics units.

- **Severity:** High 8.6 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 1 Jun 2023
- **Updated:** 10 Jan 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-2hp9-23ww-q73m

## What is CVE-2023-3028?

CVE-2023-3028 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Hangzhou Hopechart IoT Technology Co., Ltd. HQT401, published on 1 Jun 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Insufficient authentication in the MQTT backend (broker) allows an attacker to access and even manipulate the telemetry data of the entire fleet of vehicles using the HopeChart HQT-401 telematics unit. Other models are possibly affected too.

Multiple vulnerabilities were identified:

- The MQTT backend does not require authentication, allowing unauthorized connections from an attacker.

- The vehicles publish their telemetry data (e.g. GPS Location, speed, odometer, fuel, etc) as messages in public topics. The backend also sends commands to the vehicles as MQTT posts in public topics. As a result, an attacker can access the confidential data of the entire fleet that is managed by the backend.

- The MQTT messages sent by the vehicles or the backend are not encrypted or authenticated. An attacker can create and post messages to impersonate a vehicle or the backend. The attacker could then, for example, send incorrect information to the backend about the vehicle's location.

- The backend can inject data into a vehicle´s CAN bus by sending a specific MQTT message on a public topic. Because these messages are not authenticated or encrypted, an attacker could impersonate the backend, create a fake message and inject CAN data in any vehicle managed by the backend.

The confirmed version is 201808021036, however further versions have been also identified as potentially impacted.

Weakness: CWE-345 (Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity), CWE-319 (Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information), CWE-287 (Improper Authentication)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-3028?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Hopechart Hqt401 Firmware.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-3028?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-3028 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-3028 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-3028 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-3028 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-3028 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Hangzhou Hopechart IoT Technology Co., Ltd. HQT401, published on 1 Jun 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-3028 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Hangzhou Hopechart IoT Technology Co., Ltd. HQT401. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-3028/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-3028/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-3028
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-3028
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-3028

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-3028/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.