CVE-2014-7920 in Android
Summary
by MITRE
mediaserver in Android 2.2 through 5.x before 5.1 allows attackers to gain privileges. NOTE: This is a different vulnerability than CVE-2014-7921.
If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/30/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-7920 affects the mediaserver component within Android operating systems version 2.2 through 5.x before 5.1. This represents a critical privilege escalation flaw that enables attackers to elevate their system privileges from standard user level to root access. The mediaserver process serves as a core system component responsible for handling multimedia operations including audio and video processing, file format parsing, and media playback functions. The vulnerability specifically resides in how the mediaserver processes certain input data streams, creating an exploitable condition that bypasses normal security boundaries.
The technical flaw manifests through improper input validation and memory handling within the mediaserver daemon. Attackers can craft malicious media files or stream content that triggers buffer overflow conditions or arbitrary code execution within the mediaserver context. This vulnerability operates under CWE-121 which describes "Stack-based Buffer Overflow" conditions, where insufficient bounds checking allows attackers to overwrite adjacent memory locations. The flaw particularly affects the way the system handles multimedia file parsing, where crafted malformed data can cause the mediaserver to execute unintended code paths with elevated privileges. The vulnerability is classified as a privilege escalation issue because the mediaserver process typically runs with system-level privileges, making successful exploitation potentially devastating.
Operationally, this vulnerability creates significant security risks for affected Android devices, as it allows remote attackers to gain complete system control without requiring physical access or user interaction beyond triggering the malicious media content. The impact extends across all Android versions from 2.2 through 5.0.1, representing a substantial attack surface that could affect millions of devices. Security researchers have noted that exploitation typically requires no special privileges or user interaction, making it particularly dangerous as it can be triggered through various attack vectors including email attachments, web downloads, or streaming media content. The vulnerability's presence in such a wide range of Android versions demonstrates the persistent nature of memory safety issues in system-level components, particularly those handling untrusted input data.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2014-7920 primarily focus on immediate system updates and patches provided by Google and device manufacturers. Organizations should prioritize applying the Android security patches released in 2014, specifically those addressing the mediaserver privilege escalation vulnerability. System administrators should implement network monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts through unusual media processing activities. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1068 which covers "Local Privilege Escalation" and T1059 which covers "Command and Scripting Interpreter" as attackers may leverage the elevated privileges to execute additional malicious payloads. Additional defensive measures include implementing application whitelisting for media processing applications, network segmentation to limit media content access, and regular security audits of system components handling multimedia input. Device manufacturers should consider implementing additional sandboxing measures for media processing components to contain potential exploitation attempts and prevent lateral movement within the system.