Gaining remote control over Govee devices

Summary

A flaw in the binding process of Govee’s cloud platform and devices allows a remote attacker to bind an existing, online Govee device to the attacker’s account, resulting in full control of the device and removal of the device from its legitimate owner’s account. The server‑side API allows device association using a set of identifiers: "device", "sku", "type", and a client‑computed "value", that are not cryptographically bound to a secret originating from the device itself. The vulnerability has been verified for the Govee H6056 - lamp device in firmware version 1.08.13, but may affect also other Govee cloud‑connected devices. The vendor is investigating other potentially affected models. The vendor has deployed server-side security enhancements and automatic firmware updates for model H6056. Most of H6056 devices have been successfully patched through automatic updates. Remaining H6056 users with upgradeable hardware versions must manually update firmware through the Govee Home app while keeping their device WiFi-connected. Users should open the Govee Home app, tap their H6056 device card to enter the device details page, tap the settings icon in the upper right corner, navigate to Device Information section (Firmware Version), and tap the Update button to install the security patch immediately. Govee H6056 devices with hardware versions 1.00.10 or 1.00.11 cannot receive firmware update due to hardware limitations.