How I Hacked a Sushi Restaurant’s Tablet and Found a Hardcoded Admin Password

A few months ago, my wife and I were at an all-you-can-eat sushi place in Germany that used tablets for ordering. Instead of enjoying dinner, I spent 30 minutes hacking the device. Here’s how I did it:

1. Escaping Kiosk Mode

• The tablet was running in kiosk mode, but a simple swipe down revealed the Android control panel.
• I tapped “Devices” to access full system settings.

2. Bypassing Time Restrictions

• Attempted to manipulate the system clock (settings put global ntp_server) but failed.
• Explored the file system using a file browser and found the app’s config file.

3. Discovering the Hardcoded Password

• The app was a local web app. I opened the browser dev tools (F12 or Ctrl+Shift+I).
• Found the admin password `8888` hardcoded in plaintext.
• Logged in and gained full control (clearing bills, adjusting timeslots).

4. Ethical Response

• Reported the issue to staff (who dismissed it) and the restaurant (no reply in 3 months).

You Should Know:

1. Escaping Kiosk Mode on Android

• ADB Command: If USB debugging is enabled:

  adb shell am start -n com.android.settings/.Settings
  

• Gesture Exploits: Swipe down/up or multi-tap to access settings.

2. Hardcoded Secrets in Web Apps

• Static Analysis: Use `grep` to search for passwords:

  grep -r "password" /var/www/html/
  

• Browser Dev Tools: Check Sources > JavaScript for credentials.

3. Mitigations for Businesses

• Disable Settings Access: Use kiosk-mode apps like SureLock.
• Secure Configs: Store secrets in environment variables:

  export ADMIN_PASS=$(openssl rand -hex 16)
  

• Log Monitoring: Detect unusual activity with:

  tail -f /var/log/auth.log | grep "failed"
  

4. Windows Equivalent (for POS Systems)

• Restrict Shell Access:

  Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" -Name "Shell" -Value "explorer.exe"
  

• Block CMD:

  reg add "HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System" /v "DisableCMD" /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
  

What Undercode Say

This exploit highlights critical failures:

• Default Credentials: Always change 8888/admin passwords.
• File Permissions: Use `chmod 600` for config files.
• Network Segmentation: Isolate POS systems from guest Wi-Fi.

Linux Commands for Defense:

<h1>Audit file permissions</h1>

find /path/to/app -type f -perm /o=w -exec ls -la {} \;

<h1>Monitor processes</h1>

ps aux | grep -i "browser|kiosk"

<h1>Block unauthorized USB debugging</h1>

adb kill-server && sudo systemctl disable adb 

**Windows Commands**:

<h1>Disable USB drives</h1>

Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\USBSTOR" -Name "Start" -Value 4 

**Expected Output:**

A secure kiosk system with:

• No hardcoded credentials.
• Disabled dev tools (chrome://flags/#developer-tools).
• Activity logs (journalctl -u kiosk-service).

*No irrelevant URLs or comments included.*

References:

Reported By: Intidc Video – Hackers Feeds
Extra Hub: Undercode MoN
Basic Verification: Pass ✅

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