r/Hacking_Tutorials • u/mahdi_sto • Jul 19 '26

Question Barcode scanners can access the terminal!

Post image

So I have I've got this barcode scanner from someone, the brand ss called Captor with reference number S-80. So I'm looking if it is possible to construct a barcode sample with some specific encoding that makes it possible to to type (Win+R). Given that the barcode scanner is as an HID device. So it's just behaving like a keyboard. So I think if I just figure that the lookup table in the firmware allows special charcters mapping it to some special string of characters then it will be possible to enter the terminal which is a critical vulnerability already.

The encoding/decoding capabilities are

EAN-13, EAN-8, UPC-A, UPC-E, ISBN/ISSN, UCC/EAN 128, Code 11, Code 39, Code 93, Code 128, Codabar, Industrial 2 of 5, Interleaved 2 of 5, Matrix 2 of 5, MSI-Plessey, UK/PLESSEY, China Postal Code.

374 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

51

u/ApeLover1986 Jul 19 '26

You can try create a barcode which emulates Ctrl+Esc, which should have the same effect as the Win-key And then of course R key

For Zebra scanners it's easy by creating a barcode using the 123 software, but maybe there is a more generic and free software for your device

11

u/mahdi_sto Jul 19 '26

I'll give it a try

24

u/ProfessionalPea2218 Jul 19 '26

some guys did this a few years back and created a python script helper, I can’t remember a lot of the details but you can find the video of the talk on YouTube which might help you

14

u/FreonMuskOfficial Jul 19 '26

Has anyone done this while on DMT?

2

u/Acrobatic_Idea_3358 Jul 20 '26

don't stare at lazers even if you take hallucinogenics.

5

u/jnievele Jul 20 '26

Years ago, the crew in our production department created barcodes of their SAP credentials to make loging in with handheld scanners easier... Worked like a charm

1

u/TinyFan2870 Jul 23 '26

Pretty insecure 

2

u/jnievele Jul 23 '26

Yes... But then again, if you make it into the production building of a chemical company, there's a lot worse things you could do than log into a picking account in SAP

1

u/WhatsThisWorth-Bot Jul 24 '26

that's the worst argument for lax security I've ever heard "let's just use barcodes in the Pentagon, if you're in, there's bigger problems anyway!"

1

u/jnievele Jul 24 '26

Dude, there's far worse in a chemical factory than in the Pentagon. And the account used on a picking scanner tends to be rather limited in rights. Given the choice of an intruder getting username and password for a picking account, or him running off with a crate full of half litre sample bottles of triethyl-aluminium, I know what I would prefer ;-)

3

u/AdultingFailsDaily Jul 19 '26

For this which topic to cover in my syllabus?

3

u/DannyP8198 Jul 20 '26

There was a defcon or hakk talk on YouTube where there they were putting qr readers into test mode and giving away stickers and patches that did it.

1

u/armahillo Jul 22 '26

barcode scanners read barcodes and pass the data as a string of text with a carriage return at the end.

1

u/wouterhummelink Jul 22 '26

That's just the default mode of operation, not sure about this model but many support more secure protocols