Image: github.com · GitHub repository card for bigtower17/mxqpro-rk3229
Cheap RK3229 TV box: adware backdoor removed, Armbian installed
A junk "MXQ PRO" box was inventoried over ADB with REA, its Adups adware backdoor documented, and Armbian installed on the eMMC.
Credits
- Repository account morluto Source ↗
- Repository account bigtower17 Source ↗
Earliest dated source:
The full story
A cheap "MXQ PRO" Android TV box turned out to be an RK3229 inside, not the hardware its label claimed. Using REA over ADB, the owner inventoried it and decompiled the stock firmware. They found Adups FOTA preinstalled with system rights, silently installing advertiser apps, switching off app verification and sending out the device's IMEI and MAC address. Its server addresses were assembled character by character to dodge simple scans.
They documented the backdoor, removed it reversibly and blocked it through the hosts file. They added RetroArch and a small driver for an Xbox One-style controller that the old kernel couldn't handle. Finally they replaced Android with Armbian, streaming the image straight onto the internal storage with a bash trick because the rescue system had no download tools.
How it was done
Tools
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Sources
From the maker's own write-up or code. We summarise what they report; we haven't tested it ourselves.
- REA community: Reclaiming a cheap RK3229 TV box: Adups adware backdoor → Armbian on eMMCRepository account: morlutoPublished
Summary of the findings, with a link to the full write-up and tools repository.
- The code: github.comRepository account: bigtower17
Linked in the post.