In June of 2024 security researchers uncovered a set of vulnerabilities in the Kia dealer portal that allowed them to remotely take over any Kia vehicle built after 2013—and all they needed was a license plate number. According to the researchers: "These attacks could be executed remotely on any hardware-equipped vehicle in about 30 seconds, regardless of whether it had an active Kia Connect subscription." How was this possible? First, it's important to understand that the Kia "dealer portal" is where authorized Kia dealers can match customer accounts with the VIN number of their new car. For the customer accounts, Kia would ask the buyer for their email address at the dealership and send a registration link to that address where the customer could either set up a new Kia account or add their newly purchased vehicle to an existing Kia account. The researchers found out that by sending a specially crafted request they could create a dealer account for themselves. After some more manipulation they were able to access all dealer endpoints which gave them access to customer data like names, phone numbers, and email addresses. As the new "dealer," the security researchers were also able to search by Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) number, which is a unique identifier for a vehicle. With the VIN number and the email address of the rightful owner, the researchers were able to demote the owner of the vehicle so that they could add themselves as the primary account holders….Read More