| Recurring |
multiple_organization |
(a) The software failure incident related to Bluetooth vulnerabilities, known as SweynTooth, affected multiple organizations as it was found in the BLE software development kits that come with seven "system on a chip" products used by various IoT manufacturers [95560]. The vulnerabilities were identified in products ranging from smart home devices to medical tools and implants, indicating a widespread impact across different organizations utilizing these vulnerable SoCs.
(b) The SweynTooth Bluetooth vulnerabilities were reported in products from various manufacturers such as Texas Instruments, NXP, Cypress, Telink Semiconductor, Dialog Semiconductors, STMicroelectronics, and Microchip [95560]. These organizations had to release patches to address the vulnerabilities in their products, highlighting the widespread nature of the software failure incident across multiple organizations. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design, operation |
(a) The software failure incident related to the design phase is evident in the article. The vulnerabilities in the Bluetooth software were not inherent to the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocol itself but were found in the BLE software development kits that come with system on a chip (SoC) products. These SoCs are used by IoT manufacturers to quickly develop new products, but flaws in the SoC implementation can propagate across a wide range of devices, leading to vulnerabilities like the SweynTooth bugs. The article highlights that the SoC manufacturers missed some basic security red flags during the design and development of the software [95560].
(b) The software failure incident related to the operation phase is also apparent in the article. The vulnerabilities in the Bluetooth software could be exploited by a hacker within radio range to launch attacks that could crash targeted devices entirely, disable their BLE connection until a restart, or even bypass BLE's secure pairing mode to take control of the devices. This indicates that the operation or misuse of the devices, such as being within radio range of a potential attacker, could lead to the exploitation of the vulnerabilities present in the software [95560]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system |
(a) within_system: The software failure incident related to the Bluetooth vulnerabilities, known as SweynTooth, was primarily due to flaws in the BLE software development kits that come with system on a chip (SoC) products. These SoCs integrate all components of a computer in one place, and the bugs existed in the implementation of these SoCs. The vulnerabilities were not inherent to Bluetooth Low Energy itself but were a result of implementation flaws in the SoCs used by various IoT manufacturers [95560].
(b) outside_system: The software failure incident related to the Bluetooth vulnerabilities was not due to contributing factors originating from outside the system. The vulnerabilities could not be exploited over the internet, and attacks could only be launched by a hacker within radio range of the targeted devices. The flaws were found within the BLE software development kits that came with the SoCs, indicating that the vulnerabilities were internal to the system [95560]. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions, human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident in this case was primarily due to non-human actions, specifically flaws in the BLE software development kits that come with certain system on a chip (SoC) products. These flaws, collectively known as "SweynTooth," were not inherent to Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) itself but were introduced in the SoC implementations. The vulnerabilities could be exploited by a hacker within radio range to crash targeted devices, disable their BLE connection, or even bypass BLE's secure pairing mode. The SoC manufacturers have been working on releasing patches to address these non-human introduced vulnerabilities [95560].
(b) However, human actions also played a role in this software failure incident. The researchers highlighted that some of the SoC manufacturers missed basic security red flags during the development process. They mentioned that with more security testing, these issues could have been identified earlier. Additionally, the challenge lies in individual manufacturers needing to adapt the patches released by the SoC makers to their specific products and convince customers to install them. This process involves human actions in terms of implementing the necessary security updates across affected devices [95560]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
hardware, software |
(a) The software failure incident in the article is related to hardware as it discusses vulnerabilities found in Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) software development kits that come with certain system on a chip (SoC) products. The vulnerabilities, collectively dubbed "SweynTooth," exist in the SoC implementation flaws, which can affect a wide variety of devices including fitness trackers, smart locks, medical tools, and implants [95560].
(b) The software failure incident is also related to software as it involves bugs found in the BLE software development kits that are part of the SoCs. These bugs can be exploited by hackers within radio range to crash targeted devices, disable their BLE connection, or even bypass BLE's secure pairing mode to take control of the devices. The article highlights that the SoC manufacturers missed some basic security red flags, indicating software-related issues in the development process [95560]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
malicious, non-malicious |
(a) The software failure incident discussed in the article is related to malicious intent. The vulnerabilities, collectively dubbed "SweynTooth," were discovered in the BLE software development kits that come with certain system on a chip products. These vulnerabilities could be exploited by a hacker within radio range to crash targeted devices, disable their BLE connection, or even take them over. The article mentions that the researchers did not develop proof of concept attacks against potentially vulnerable medical devices, but the vulnerabilities could be used to crash communication functions or the entire device, posing serious risks, especially in the medical context [95560].
(b) The software failure incident is also related to non-malicious factors such as implementation issues in the BLE software development kits. The vulnerabilities were found in the BLE software development kits that come with system on a chip products, indicating flaws in the implementation of the Bluetooth Low Energy protocol. The article highlights that the SoC manufacturers missed some basic security red flags, and the vulnerabilities were not due to the BLE protocol itself but rather the implementation flaws in the SoCs [95560]. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
poor_decisions |
(a) The software failure incident related to the Bluetooth vulnerabilities, known as SweynTooth, can be attributed to poor decisions made by the SoC manufacturers. The vulnerabilities were not in the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocol itself but in the BLE software development kits that come with the SoCs. The SoC manufacturers missed some basic security red flags, and the researchers found that with a little more security testing, these issues could have been identified earlier [95560]. The fact that some manufacturers have already released patches while others are still working on them highlights the consequences of poor decisions in the development and testing processes of these SoCs. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
development_incompetence, accidental |
(a) The software failure incident in the article is related to development incompetence. The vulnerabilities in the Bluetooth software were discovered by researchers from Singapore University of Technology and Design who were initially analyzing Wi-Fi security and later applied the same methods to assess Bluetooth. They found bugs in certain implementations of Bluetooth Low Energy, specifically in the BLE software development kits that come with system on a chip products. The researchers noted that the SoC manufacturers missed some basic security red flags, and with more security testing, these issues could have been found earlier [95560]. Manufacturers of IoT devices using the affected SoCs had to individually test their products to determine feasible attacks and necessary patches, highlighting the lack of thorough security testing during development.
(b) The software failure incident can also be attributed to accidental factors. The vulnerabilities in the Bluetooth software, collectively known as "SweynTooth," were not intentionally created but were a result of flaws in the BLE software development kits that were integrated into various devices. The researchers did not develop proof of concept attacks against potentially vulnerable medical devices, indicating that the vulnerabilities were not deliberately introduced but were discovered as unintended consequences of the SoC implementation flaws [95560]. |
| Duration |
temporary |
The software failure incident described in the article is temporary. The vulnerabilities identified in the Bluetooth software development kits, collectively known as "SweynTooth," can be exploited by a hacker within radio range to crash targeted devices, disable their BLE connection until a restart, or even bypass BLE's secure pairing mode to take them over. Manufacturers have been working on releasing patches to address these vulnerabilities, but the process of updating all affected devices is challenging and time-consuming [95560]. |
| Behaviour |
crash |
(a) crash: The software failure incident in the article is related to a crash behavior where the vulnerabilities in the Bluetooth software development kits can lead to attacks that crash targeted devices entirely, disable their BLE connection until a restart, or even bypass BLE's secure pairing mode to take them over [95560].
(b) omission: There is no specific mention of the software failure incident omitting to perform its intended functions at an instance(s) in the article.
(c) timing: The software failure incident is not related to timing issues where the system performs its intended functions correctly but too late or too early.
(d) value: The software failure incident is not related to the system performing its intended functions incorrectly.
(e) byzantine: The software failure incident is not related to the system behaving erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions.
(f) other: The software failure incident in the article can be categorized as a crash behavior due to the vulnerabilities in the Bluetooth software development kits leading to various types of attacks on devices [95560]. |