Pudu Robotics’ Robots Vulnerable to Exploitation
An independent cybersecurity researcher known as BobDaHacker has discovered security flaws in the products of Pudu Robotics, a leading global supplier of commercial service robots. The vulnerabilities made it possible for attackers to redirect robots to arbitrary locations and force them to execute unauthorized commands.
The Company and Its Products
Pudu Robotics, a Chinese manufacturer, produces robots for a range of tasks. Its BellaBot delivers food in restaurants, while the FlashBot can interface with human-designed systems such as elevators. According to Frost & Sullivan, the company held a 23% share of the commercial service robot market last year.
The Vulnerabilities
BobDaHacker found that administrative access to the robots’ control software was poorly secured. To exploit this weakness, attackers needed only a valid authorization token—which could be obtained via cross-site scripting (XSS) or by creating a test account intended for pre-purchase robot trials.
Once authenticated, no further security checks were in place. This allowed attackers to:
- Modify or cancel orders
- Redirect robots to arbitrary locations
- Rename robots to complicate recovery efforts
In practice, this meant attackers could reroute food deliveries, disable an entire fleet of restaurant robots, or even cause a FlashBot to damage office systems or exfiltrate data.
Initial Disclosure and Silence
The researcher first contacted Pudu Robotics on August 12, emailing its technical support, maintenance, and sales teams. After receiving no reply, he sent follow-up messages on August 21 to more than 50 employees.
With no response, BobDaHacker escalated the issue by contacting Pudu Robotics’ clients. Japanese restaurant chains Skylark Holdings and Zensho reportedly took the warnings seriously.
The Response
Within 48 hours of customer outreach, Pudu Robotics responded—though the reply raised eyebrows. According to the researcher, the message was clearly generated by ChatGPT and even included the placeholder “[Your email address].”
“They didn’t even bother to remove the placeholder in the ChatGPT template. Just an incredible effort,” BobDaHacker commented.
The company thanked him for the discovery, writing:
“Thank you for your valuable contribution to our security. If you would like to share additional details or have any questions, please feel free to contact me directly at [Your email address].”
Fixes and Clarifications
Despite the awkward reply, Pudu Robotics did patch the vulnerabilities. On September 3, BobDaHacker updated his publication to clarify that the company had not been deliberately ignoring him. His initial emails had failed to reach their recipients; the bug report was eventually received through other channels, after which developers began working on a fix.
Pudu Robotics also apologized for the placeholder oversight and announced the creation of a dedicated reporting address: security@pudutech.com.
