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Nissan LEAF Remote-Attack Reports: What the 2016 API Flaw Did—and What It Didn’t

A 2016 NissanConnect EV API flaw and a later Bosch infotainment disclosure are separate issues. Here’s what each report says—and what remains unknown.
Entry527 Date Time4 min MechanicCarCody Team
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The headline refers to a NissanConnect EV app/API flaw reported in 2016: researchers said a vehicle identification number (VIN) could be used to request selected LEAF data and trigger climate control without an authentication token. The reported API could not remotely lock, unlock or start the car. A separate 2025 advisory concerns a specific 2020 LEAF infotainment system and is not the same vulnerability.

What the 2016 Nissan LEAF API flaw allowed

SecurityWeek reported on February 24, 2016, that Nissan’s LEAF mobile-service API accepted requests without an authentication token. A VIN was enough to target requests, according to the report. Security researcher Troy Hunt described enumerating VINs and verifying the issue on another vehicle; that demonstration does not establish that every LEAF was individually accessed.

The exposed functions reported at the time included viewing vehicle status and driving-history information, and enabling or disabling climate control. The history could include power consumption, distance traveled, dates and times, and number of trips. That information could reveal patterns about a vehicle’s use even though, according to the report, the API could not remotely lock or unlock the LEAF or start it. Hunt and Scott Helme also raised the possibility that repeated climate-control activation could drain a parked car’s battery.

SecurityWeek’s February 24, 2016 report and Troy Hunt’s account document the original disclosure.

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What Nissan said in 2016

Nissan told SecurityWeek that it was aware of a data issue affecting climate-control and state-of-charge functions, and said it had “no effect whatsoever on the vehicle’s operation or safety.” SecurityWeek also reported that Nissan disabled the app after an internal investigation found telematics functions accessible “via a non-secure route.” Nissan said other critical driving elements were unaffected and that the functions remained available manually.

Those are statements quoted in contemporaneous 2016 reporting, not confirmation of the app’s availability, fixes or support in 2026. SecurityWeek described disabling the affected service in account configuration as a temporary protective measure before Nissan disabled the app; its report does not establish that as a current remedy. It also quoted Nissan as saying 200,000 LEAF drivers used the app at the time—a historical figure, not a current fleet count.

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Does this affect my LEAF?

The 2016 report concerns a connected-service API and does not identify a specific model-year or firmware range that lets an owner determine whether a particular car remains exposed. The available reporting also does not confirm current service status or patch deployment. Do not assume the 2016 behavior is a current attack path; these sources do not establish that it remains exploitable today.

A later disclosure is more specific but concerns a different system. PCA Cyber Security’s March 6, 2025 advisory says researchers verified multiple vulnerabilities on a 2020 Nissan LEAF ZE1 equipped with a Bosch infotainment ECU running software version 283C30861E. PCA reported full infotainment control after one-time Bluetooth access, with possible control of some body functions such as locks and windows, as well as access to private location data and the in-vehicle microphone. These findings describe the tested configuration and research demonstration; they do not establish that every LEAF is affected or that the 2016 app/API flaw had those capabilities.

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Disclosure System and evidence Reported prerequisite and impact
2016 app/API issue NissanConnect EV service API; contemporaneous reporting and researcher demonstration VIN used to target unauthenticated requests; selected vehicle information and climate-control functions were reported. Remote lock, unlock and start were not available through the app, according to SecurityWeek.
2025 infotainment advisory Bosch infotainment ECU in a tested 2020 LEAF ZE1 running software 283C30861E; PCA Cyber Security advisory One-time Bluetooth access was part of the reported research demonstration; PCA described subsequent infotainment compromise and possible access to some body functions and private data on the tested configuration.
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What the later infotainment advisory says

PCA lists eight vulnerabilities, CVE-2025-32056 through CVE-2025-32063, with CVSS 3.1 scores from 4.0 to 9.3. Those are scores for individual vulnerabilities, not an overall score for the vehicle. The findings differ in mechanism and prerequisites, so the highest score should not be read as a standalone rating of the risk to every LEAF.

  • CVE-2025-32056: PCA describes predictable anti-theft response generation. It lists a CVSS 3.1 score of 4.0 and a physical attack vector.
  • CVE-2025-32057: PCA describes a certificate-validation issue in the infotainment ECU’s Redbend update service that could permit backend impersonation using a self-signed certificate. Its CVSS 3.1 score is 6.5; the vector is network-based and user interaction is required.
  • CVE-2025-32058: PCA describes code execution on the CAN-connected RH850 after code execution on the infotainment main SoC. Its CVSS 3.1 score is 9.3. That score applies to this individual weakness, not the whole vehicle.
  • CVE-2025-32060: INCIBE-CERT says kernel module signature verification is absent, but loading a custom module requires an attacker first to execute commands as root through additional vulnerabilities. Its CVSS 3.1 score is 6.7.
  • CVE-2025-32063: INCIBE-CERT describes a startup misconfiguration that can activate a disabled firewall and SSH server. It lists a CVSS 3.1 score of 6.8 and a physical attack vector.

The cited advisory records for the remaining CVEs are included in PCA’s disclosure; the examples above show why the eight findings should not be treated as a single, equally accessible exploit.

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Disclosure timeline and unresolved scope

PCA says it first sent its advisory to Nissan on August 2, 2023. It reports that Nissan confirmed the vulnerabilities and began planning mitigations on January 26, 2024; PCA sought CVE registration in April 2024, and published the advisory on March 6, 2025. The advisory timeline does not establish which patches were deployed or which other firmware and vehicle variants may be affected.

Accordingly, the available sources do not establish a current fleet-wide affected-vehicle count, patch-adoption figure or independently published estimate of exploitation. For a specific vehicle, an owner can ask a Nissan dealer or Nissan support to check its infotainment software and any applicable service actions; the published advisory alone does not determine whether a particular car has received a mitigation.

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Read PCA Cyber Security’s advisory, the CVE-2025-32058 record, the CVE-2025-32057 record, the CVE-2025-32056 record, and INCIBE-CERT’s entries for CVE-2025-32060 and CVE-2025-32063.

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