A Practical Wireless Attack by Metasploit Framework for in-Vehicle CAN Bus

Abstract

Modern vehicles have become not only simple mechanical devices but increasingly intelligent with complex ones. These vehicles are built on the interconnection of many microcontrollers known as Electronic Control Units (ECUs) over various communication support, primarily the Controller Area Network (CAN) bus. Also, they are connected to wireless communication for interacting with the exterior world as indicated by on-board navigation, Wi-Fi and mobile communication systems. In addition, they serve as the groundwork for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), which stand for a safety system that provides information and assistance to the driver to prevent dangerous situations that could lead to an accident. Despite ECUs are developed to provide different advantages to the driver and make the vehicle connected, they made security vulnerabilities more accessible to hackers to break into the vehicle internal network through wireless communication. The purpose of this article is to expose three types of attacks by Wi-Fi on the Electronic Architecture interconnected with CAN bus. These attacks show how a car equipped with ADAS allows hackers to take over its vital components. We carried out several bench tests to gauge its susceptibility to potential threats. This article also aims to help researchers understand the protections available and how they can be used to protect smart vehicles against emerging malware threats that could compromise the security of modern vehicles. Additionally, it provides future guidelines for researchers who want to create new defenses that can protect smart vehicle systems from malware attacks.