Business
Corsair keyboard bug makes it type on its own, no malware involved
Corsair has confirmed that a bug in the firmware of K100 keyboards, and not malware, is behind previously entered text being auto-typed into applications days later.
The company’s statement comes after multiple K100 users have reported that their keyboards are typing text on their own at random moments.
This behavior was first reported on the Corsair forums in August 2022, leaving people puzzled and concerned that some form of keylogging or malware was behind the behavior.
Some said they had tested their K100 keyboards in safe mode to exclude the chances of malware running on Windows and still witnessed random word typing, so the source of the problem was determined to be in the hardware itself.
As first reported by Ars Technica, a Corsair spokesperson responded to concerns, saying that their keyboards do not have keylogging capabilities, nor do they actively monitor what users type on them.
“Corsair keyboards unequivocally do not log user input in any way and do not have the ability to log individual keystrokes,” Corsair told Ars Technica.
According to the keyboard maker, the problem stems from a flaw in the macro recording function, causing it to switch on by mistake and begin recording keystrokes and mouse movements. These macros are then triggered at a later date, causing the saved text to be typed again.
The exact cause of this bug is yet to be determined, and the Corsair spokesperson said the firm is working with impacted users to investigate the precise nature of the issue.
Fix is unclear
Unfortunately, the latest firmware update made available to K100 devices (version 1.11.39) a couple of weeks back does not fix the issue.
To make matters worse, this latest firmware update has caused random freezes on the keyboard, which some users report may be linked to the high polling rate setting.
The recommended action to stop the K100 keyboard from auto-typing text at random moments is to reset it by unplugging the keyboard and holding down the Esc button for five seconds while plugging it back in.
However, some users report that a factory reset and clearing the keyboard memory still don’t prevent the issue from reoccurring after a while. Hence, users may have to wait until Corsair provides a firmware update that fixes this bug.
Repeating randomly captured inputs may expose sensitive information in screen sharing and presentations. It can also interfere with the users’ gaming experience, so if you’re using your keyboard in these situations, you may want to replace it with something else until the bug is fixed.