How I safely tested a TurnKey CCTV appliance (lab workflow + mitigation playbook)

#security #devops #iot #infosec

I deployed a TurnKey CCTV appliance in a host-only VM, discovered an outdated SSH banner that mapped to CVE-2024-6387, validated impact using a public PoC in the lab only, and then applied prioritized mitigations: rebuild, patch, SSH hardening, network segmentation, and monitoring. This post gives a practical checklist and a minimal playbook for safe testing and remediation.

Checklist (lab safety first)

Host-only or LAN-segment VM network.

Snapshot the clean image before any tests.

Evidence folder: store nmap outputs, screenshots, and /var/log entries.

Use isolated test files (video samples) rather than production feeds.

Discovery (safe)

Use nmap -sV to detect service banners.

Compare version strings to CVE databases and vendor advisories.

Don’t perform intrusive scans or exploits outside the scoped, authorized lab.

Validation (lab only)

If you find a public PoC, run it only in a disposable, offline VM you control.

Preserve VM snapshots and logs before and after validation.

Do not publish exploit code or step-by-step attack instructions.

Minimal mitigation playbook (immediate priorities)

Rebuild from trusted image and apply all OS/security updates.
SSH hardening (short checklist):

PermitRootLogin no

PasswordAuthentication no (use key auth)

UsePAM yes / AllowUsers / AllowGroups to restrict access

Deploy fail2ban or connection rate limiting

Network segmentation: Put all IoT/CCTV devices on a dedicated VLAN with strict ACLs. Management only via VPN/jump host.
Logging & detection: Ship logs to a central host, enable AIDE, and monitor for suspicious activity.
Credentials & secrets: Rotate secrets, remove default accounts, and use a vault for keys.

Repo & artifacts
I maintain a repo with:

A sanitized incident report template.

Lab setup checklist.

Safe scripts to collect logs and snapshot instructions.
(Repository contains no exploit code — only templates and defensive artifacts.)

Wrap up
When you test IoT/CCTV devices: plan, isolate, snapshot, document, and revert. If you want the checklist or the repo link, send me a DM.