Categories: HackingSecurity

Towelroot, how to root a Android devices with a click

The popular hacker George Hotz, also known as Geohot, as releases a one click tool dubbed Towelroot to root Android devices exploiting a known Linux flaw.

The popular hacker George Hotz, also known as Geohot, has designed a root tool called Towelroot that will let most Android smartphones users to root their device without a particular effort and technical knowledge. Just one click in in fact allows Android users to root their devices, and this is possible because they run an unpatched version of the Linux kernel.
George Hotz is the expert that hacker the PlayStation 3 and for this reason he being sued by Sony, Geohot is also known for unlocking,  with his the limera1n jailbreak tool, the iPhone and use the mobile with any wireless carriers
Geohot for his Towelroot application has exploited the vulnerability (CVE-2014-3153) which was recently disclosed by another popular hacker Pinkie Pie. The hack is possible because most versions of Android devices are based on the Linux kernel version 3.14.5, let’s remind that the flaw could be exploited by hackers to potentially acquire root access on vulnerable device.
Once obtained root access on the Android device the user has system control over it, Geohot’s Towelroot is able to root many Android devices including the following models:
  • AT&T Galaxy S5
  • Verizon Galaxy S5
  • Galaxy S4 Active
  • Nexus 5
  • AT&T Galaxy Note 3
  • Verizon Galaxy Note 3
  • Also some users have even reported its success with the all time favorite company of GeoHot, Sony Xperia SP C5303.
The process to root Android Devices is composed of the following steps:
Step 1: Download Android Rooting application from towelroot.com website and install it.
Step 2: During the installation, you might receive a warning message saying that Towelroot “contains code that attempts to bypass Android’s security”. Choose anyway to install it selecting the checkbox: “I understand and still want to install it”.
Step 3: Once completed the installation of the Towelroot, run the application and click the button reading “make it ra1n” and it will force your device to reboot.
Step 4: After the device reboots to home screen your phone will be rooted with its bootloader unlocked. Simple, what do you think?
The dark side of the story is that bad actors  could exploit the same vulnerability to gain administrative access to a targeted phone and could potentially steal sensible data and install malware.
Just for information XDA members launched a Crowd funded Bounty program, actually valued at over $18,000, for “rooting” of Verizon and AT&T Samsung Galaxy S5 devices.
Probably both George Hotz, to have developed the Towelroot, and Pinkie Pie who has discovered the vulnerability deceive the reward.
[adrotate banner=”9″]

Pierluigi Paganini

(Security Affairs –  George Hotz, Towelroot)

Pierluigi Paganini

Pierluigi Paganini is member of the ENISA (European Union Agency for Network and Information Security) Threat Landscape Stakeholder Group and Cyber G7 Group, he is also a Security Evangelist, Security Analyst and Freelance Writer. Editor-in-Chief at "Cyber Defense Magazine", Pierluigi is a cyber security expert with over 20 years experience in the field, he is Certified Ethical Hacker at EC Council in London. The passion for writing and a strong belief that security is founded on sharing and awareness led Pierluigi to find the security blog "Security Affairs" recently named a Top National Security Resource for US. Pierluigi is a member of the "The Hacker News" team and he is a writer for some major publications in the field such as Cyber War Zone, ICTTF, Infosec Island, Infosec Institute, The Hacker News Magazine and for many other Security magazines. Author of the Books "The Deep Dark Web" and “Digital Virtual Currency and Bitcoin”.

Recent Posts

Google: China dominates government exploitation of zero-day vulnerabilities in 2023

Google's Threat Analysis Group (TAG) and Mandiant reported a surge in the number of actively…

20 mins ago

Google addressed 2 Chrome zero-days demonstrated at Pwn2Own 2024

Google addressed two zero-day vulnerabilities in the Chrome web browser that have been demonstrated during…

12 hours ago

INC Ransom stole 3TB of data from the National Health Service (NHS) of Scotland

The INC Ransom extortion group hacked the National Health Service (NHS) of Scotland and is threatening…

16 hours ago

CISA adds Microsoft SharePoint bug disclosed at Pwn2Own to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) adds a Microsoft SharePoint vulnerability disclosed at the…

21 hours ago

The DDR Advantage: Real-Time Data Defense

This is the advantage of Data Detection and Response (DDR) for organizations aiming to build…

1 day ago

Finnish police linked APT31 to the 2021 parliament attack

The Finnish Police attributed the attack against the parliament that occurred in March 2021 to…

1 day ago

This website uses cookies.