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428 points coronadisaster | 1 comments | | HN request time: 1.038s | source
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jamesgeck0 ◴[] No.23679063[source]
> Web MIDI API - Allows websites to enumerate, manipulate and access MIDI devices.

This API is actually a bit horrifying from a security perspective. In addition to allowing you to use MIDI keyboards as input devices on websites, it also allows websites to send binary firmware updates to MIDI devices. The reason is that it's common to use custom firmware to backup/restore settings and enable neat effects and functionality on MIDI devices.

Mozilla's engineers have reasonably pointed out that an attacker utilizing Web MIDI could use MIDI devices as a stepping stone to launch an attack against the user's PC outside of the web sandbox. One such attack might be by reprogramming the device to appear as a standard USB computer keyboard and "typing" commands to the host.

At least one well known manufacturer has vouched for the technical safety of their musical instruments, noting that they're physically designed in such a way that the MIDI firmware can't alter USB firmware. But there's no way to know that every MIDI device has been similarly well designed.

As neat as Web MIDI is, I think Mozilla and Apple probably made the right security call here.

https://github.com/mozilla/standards-positions/issues/58

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seph-reed ◴[] No.23679155[source]
Why not just limit allowed midi status to: Note On, Note Off, CC, Aftertouch, and Pitch Bend? Or maybe be readonly?

Is there a way to escalate that I'm not seeing? AFAI remember, all programming is done through status messages 11110000 and above.

https://www.midi.org/specifications-old/item/table-2-expande...

Full Disclosure: I made a web synth and really want to be able to use midi to play with it.

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1. strbean ◴[] No.23680397[source]
I don't see why the API should even allow enumerating devices. Put that behind a browser dialog. Webpages don't get to enumerate directories/files on your system - they pop up a file picker dialog. The same should happen with device selection. Once you've granted the site access to a device, it can ask you to associate a name with the handle, and provide whatever shiny device selection / device management UI it wants.