• Home
  • Cyber Crime
  • Cyber warfare
  • APT
  • Data Breach
  • Deep Web
  • Digital ID
  • Hacking
  • Hacktivism
  • Intelligence
  • Internet of Things
  • Laws and regulations
  • Malware
  • Mobile
  • Reports
  • Security
  • Social Networks
  • Terrorism
  • ICS-SCADA
  • POLICIES
  • Contact me
MUST READ

Security Affairs newsletter Round 532 by Pierluigi Paganini – INTERNATIONAL EDITION

 | 

McDonald’s job app exposes data of 64 Million applicants

 | 

Athlete or Hacker? Russian basketball player accused in U.S. ransomware case

 | 

U.S. CISA adds Citrix NetScaler ADC and Gateway flaw to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

 | 

UK NCA arrested four people over M&S, Co-op cyberattacks

 | 

PerfektBlue Bluetooth attack allows hacking infotainment systems of Mercedes, Volkswagen, and Skoda

 | 

Qantas data breach impacted 5.7 million individuals

 | 

DoNot APT is expanding scope targeting European foreign ministries

 | 

Nippon Steel Solutions suffered a data breach following a zero-day attack

 | 

Iranian group Pay2Key.I2P ramps Up ransomware attacks against Israel and US with incentives for affiliates

 | 

Hackers weaponize Shellter red teaming tool to spread infostealers

 | 

Microsoft Patch Tuesday security updates for July 2025 fixed a zero-day

 | 

Italian police arrested a Chinese national suspected of cyberespionage on a U.S. warrant

 | 

U.S. CISA adds MRLG, PHPMailer, Rails Ruby on Rails, and Synacor Zimbra Collaboration Suite flaws to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

 | 

IT Worker arrested for selling access in $100M PIX cyber heist

 | 

New Batavia spyware targets Russian industrial enterprises

 | 

Taiwan flags security risks in popular Chinese apps after official probe

 | 

U.S. CISA adds Google Chromium V8 flaw to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

 | 

Hunters International ransomware gang shuts down and offers free decryption keys to all victims

 | 

SECURITY AFFAIRS MALWARE NEWSLETTER ROUND 52

 | 
  • Home
  • Cyber Crime
  • Cyber warfare
  • APT
  • Data Breach
  • Deep Web
  • Digital ID
  • Hacking
  • Hacktivism
  • Intelligence
  • Internet of Things
  • Laws and regulations
  • Malware
  • Mobile
  • Reports
  • Security
  • Social Networks
  • Terrorism
  • ICS-SCADA
  • POLICIES
  • Contact me
  • Home
  • Breaking News
  • Hacking
  • An air transport security system flaw allowed to bypass airport security screenings

An air transport security system flaw allowed to bypass airport security screenings

Pierluigi Paganini September 01, 2024

A vulnerability in an air transport security system allowed unauthorized individuals to bypass airport security screenings.

The Known Crewmember (KCM) and Cockpit Access Security System (CASS) programs are two transport security systems that pilots, flight attendants, and other airline employees to bypass traditional airport security checks and access cockpit jumpseats. These systems verify an employee’s active employment status with their airline, and depending on their status authorize to skip security screening or access the cockpit. The process involves presenting identification, and a TSA agent verifies the employee’s status using a laptop.

The researchers Ian Carroll and Sam Curry conducted a study on the verification processes implemented by these systems highlighting that different airlines likely use various systems to manage employee data.

ARINC, a subsidiary of Collins Aerospace, manages the Known Crewmember (KCM) system for the TSA, routing authorization requests between different airlines via an API. While larger airlines may have their own systems, smaller ones often rely on services provided by third-party organizations like FlyCASS. FlyCASS provides a web-based interface for KCM and Cockpit Access Security System (CASS) participation. The two researchers discovered a critical vulnerability in FlyCASS, finding a SQL injection in the login system. This flaw allowed the researchers to gain administrator access to Air Transport International’s account, allowing them to manage and add pilots and flight attendants to the airline’s KCM and CASS lists without further authentication.

“To test that it was possible to add new employees, we created an employee named Test TestOnly with a test photo of our choice and authorized it for KCM and CASS access. We then used the Query features to check if our new employee was authorized. Unfortunately, our test user was now approved to use both KCM and CASS:” wrote Carroll. “At this point, we realized we had discovered a very serious problem. Anyone with basic knowledge of SQL injection could login to this site and add anyone they wanted to KCM and CASS, allowing themselves to both skip security screening and then access the cockpits of commercial airliners. We ended up finding several more serious issues but began the disclosure process immediately after finding the first issue.”

air transport security

The researchers initially disclosed the issue to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on April 23. Then the FlyCASS was disabled in KCM/CASS to address the issue. The researchers explained that when they attempted to coordinate a safe public disclosure, DHS stopped responding, and the TSA issued misleading statements downplaying the issue.

The TSA inaccurately claimed that the flaw couldn’t be used to access KCM checkpoints, asserting that a vetting process was required before issuing a KCM barcode.

“Unfortunately, instead of working with us, the Department of Homeland Security stopped responding to us, and the TSA press office issued dangerously incorrect statements about the vulnerability, denying what we had discovered.” added Carroll. “The TSA press office said in a statement that this vulnerability could not be used to access a KCM checkpoint because the TSA initiates a vetting process before issuing a KCM barcode to a new member. However, a KCM barcode is not required to use KCM checkpoints, as the TSO can enter an airline employee ID manually.”

The security duo pointed out that a KCM barcode isn’t necessary since TSA agents can manually enter an airline employee ID. Then the TSA removed the relevant information from their website but didn’t address the researchers’ correction.

Threat actors can have exploited the vulnerability other attacks, such as editing existing KCM members’ details, which could bypass the vetting process for new members. Additionally, unenrolled KCM barcodes could be linked to employee IDs through the KCM website.

Pierluigi Paganini

Follow me on Twitter: @securityaffairs and Facebook and Mastodon

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, air transport security)


facebook linkedin twitter

air transport security aviation Hacking hacking news information security news IT Information Security Pierluigi Paganini Security Affairs Security News

you might also like

Pierluigi Paganini July 13, 2025
Security Affairs newsletter Round 532 by Pierluigi Paganini – INTERNATIONAL EDITION
Read more
Pierluigi Paganini July 12, 2025
McDonald’s job app exposes data of 64 Million applicants
Read more

leave a comment

newsletter

Subscribe to my email list and stay
up-to-date!

    recent articles

    Security Affairs newsletter Round 532 by Pierluigi Paganini – INTERNATIONAL EDITION

    Breaking News / July 13, 2025

    McDonald’s job app exposes data of 64 Million applicants

    Hacking / July 12, 2025

    Athlete or Hacker? Russian basketball player accused in U.S. ransomware case

    Cyber Crime / July 11, 2025

    U.S. CISA adds Citrix NetScaler ADC and Gateway flaw to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

    Hacking / July 11, 2025

    UK NCA arrested four people over M&S, Co-op cyberattacks

    Cyber Crime / July 10, 2025

    To contact me write an email to:

    Pierluigi Paganini :
    pierluigi.paganini@securityaffairs.co

    LEARN MORE

    QUICK LINKS

    • Home
    • Cyber Crime
    • Cyber warfare
    • APT
    • Data Breach
    • Deep Web
    • Digital ID
    • Hacking
    • Hacktivism
    • Intelligence
    • Internet of Things
    • Laws and regulations
    • Malware
    • Mobile
    • Reports
    • Security
    • Social Networks
    • Terrorism
    • ICS-SCADA
    • POLICIES
    • Contact me

    Copyright@securityaffairs 2024

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
    Cookie SettingsAccept All
    Manage consent

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities...
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT