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From a press release geekwire got: “Between 1/24-1/31, a radio station in the Seattle area sent image files with no extension, which caused an issue on som
by PaulRobinson 5y ago
From a press release geekwire got:
“Between 1/24-1/31, a radio station in the Seattle area sent image files with no extension, which caused an issue on some 2014-2017 Mazda vehicles with older software,” the Mazda statement said. “Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) has distributed service alerts advising dealers of the issue.”
The statement goes on to say that “dealers are currently experiencing parts delays due to shipping constraints” and that MNAO plans to “support impacted customers with replacement parts. These customers should contact their local Mazda dealer who can submit a goodwill request to the Mazda Warranty department on their behalf, order the parts, and schedule a free repair when the parts arrive.”
The Mazda representative did not reply to GeekWire’s follow-up questions about what actually malfunctioned in these vehicles and what parts would need to be replaced.
- driverdan 5y agoWhat does that mean? Sent image files where? How did those image files impact car radios?
- jlack 5y agoHD radio can broadcast images for the radio station, etc. that is displayed when you are tuned to that channel.
- tcskeptic 5y agoI suspect they are talking about this: https://radiodns.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Guidelines-on-Provision-of-Station-Logos-to-Automotive-Receivers-February-2018.pdf https://radiodns.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Guidelines-o... Essentially small images sent OTA that allow stations to "Brand" themselves on automotive receivers.
- dmix 5y agoSo a bug in the HD Radio app which has some very poor process architecture/sandboxing if it can take over the whole interface.
- dymk 5y agoGood concept for a Black Mirror episode
- benbristow 5y agoGo go gadgetmobile https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/disney/images/8/8e/Gadgetmobile_dashboard.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/854?cb=20180417011428 https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/disney/images/8/8e/Gadgetm...
- patja 5y agoI think they can also do useful things like traffic maps and album art over nrsc5
- rbanffy 5y agoAnd buffer overflows and RCE as well, I assume ;-)
- adolph 5y agoGoatse other people's radios is a terrible idea. Advanced data services provide broadcasters with the ability to transmit information that may be unrelated to MPS, SIS or SPS. These services can carry any form and content that can be expressed as a data file or a data stream, including audio services. Examples of such services include (i) visual effects associated with MPS, SIS, or SPS services; (ii) multimedia presentations of stock, news, weather, and entertainment programming including audio, text and images; (iii) broadcast updates to in-vehicle systems; (iv) local storage of content for time shifting and later replay; (v) targeted advertising; (vi) traffic updates and information for use with navigation systems; and (vii) subscription or free-but-limited-access services using conditional access. https://www.nrscstandards.org/standards-and-guidelines/documents/standards/nrsc-5-d/nrsc-5-d.pdf https://www.nrscstandards.org/standards-and-guidelines/docum... SDR Receiver: https://github.com/theori-io/nrsc5 https://github.com/theori-io/nrsc5
- sizzle 5y agoWow goatse, now that’s something I haven’t heard in about a decade. For the curious, I wouldn’t google the image, not trying to be asshole…
- dgrin91 5y agoHow does a radio station even send an image file? What does that mean? What is suppose to happen when a radio station sends an image file?
- stuff4ben 5y agoHD radio is a lot more advanced than the old AM/FM stuff you may be used to.
- koz1000 5y agoIn newer cars with video displays and HD Radio capability, the screen can show a small image next to the song information. It's typically album cover art for the song that is playing, but a lot of stations just put their station logo up and keep it there. https://blogmedia.dealerfire.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/561/2016/05/2014-mazda3-radio-hd-1024x570.png https://blogmedia.dealerfire.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/56... Satellite radio had this capability very early, and HD Radio seems to want to keep up with that. The data itself is sent on a sideband data channel that rides along with the traditional FM channel. Lots of links to read up starting here: https://www.sigidwiki.com/wiki/HD_Radio_(FM) https://www.sigidwiki.com/wiki/HD_Radio_(FM) The signal specification can be read here: https://www.sigidwiki.com/images/f/f6/HD_Radio_FM.pdf https://www.sigidwiki.com/images/f/f6/HD_Radio_FM.pdf
- ThinkingGuy 5y agoIt's also possible to decode this data with an RTL-SDR receiver: https://www.rtl-sdr.com/displaying-live-weather-and-traffic-data-from-hd-radio-nrsc-5-signals/ https://www.rtl-sdr.com/displaying-live-weather-and-traffic-...
- koz1000 5y agoWhat's interesting is that this traffic map is also loaded on Mazda cars, but shown in a different application. Somehow the system searches for a HDRadio signal in the background to update this map from an independent receiver. I've had AM radio on for long periods and then load this app, and the traffic map is up to date. I've also driven to a different city and the map is now showing the new city.
- Humdeee 5y agoI imagine this could be anything like song album art, station icon, etc. for any car that has more than the scrolling led type radio display
- wfleming 5y agoI don't know the technical details of how it's encoded, but digital radio stations can embed metadata in their signal that the car radio can display. That includes text, like the station name, and also images, like a logo, that's usually shown next to the station name. I believe it's part of HD Radio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HD_Radio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HD_Radio.
- hedora 5y agoWait. They're not fixing this with a firmware update? So, any radio station intern will be able to take out a city's worth of Mazdas moving forward? Nice.
- meshaneian 5y agoRisk was already there. Have you seen the way interns drive?
- Cd00d 5y agoI think "take out" is unnecessarily hyperbolic language. It seems they're stuck on a radio station, not inoperable or dangerous.
- hoppyhoppy2 5y agoIndeed, it seems like an effective way for a radio station to "capture" more listeners!
- willcipriano 5y agoWKW 93.4 FM, all ads, all the time.
- hedora 5y agoAlso, nav is broken, and presumably emergency broadcast features are hosed as well. I wonder about backup cameras, and various driver assist things. If a Model 3 had an analogous bug, then everything from the windshield washers to the climate control and rear view mirrors would be borked (I'd guess phone-based unlock would be too, at a minimum.) Many Priuses integrate parts of the power train into the radio. I suspect they'd have serious issues too. Of course, what matters is how integrated all this stuff is in a Mazda. That, I don't know.
- jon-wood 5y ago> Many Priuses integrate parts of the power train into the radio. I suspect they'd have serious issues too. I’m sorry, they do what now? Why would you even do that?
- snarkerson 5y agoThe same issue occurred in th Boston area 2 years ago. A borked image file caused the system to go into a boot loop. Had to get the unit replaced at the dealership.
- emiliosic 5y agoWhen I had a 2016 Mazda, I regularly downloaded their firmware, which at some point came fairly frequently. Like other manufacturers, their dealer portal posts firmware upgrades along with other service bulletins, and occasionally the firmware leaks out from some of their dealers, so enthusiast would go on upgrade it by themselves.