CVE-2015-7895 in Galaxy
Summary
by MITRE
Samsung Gallery on the Samsung Galaxy S6 allows local users to cause a denial of service (process crash).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/09/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-7895 affects the Samsung Gallery application running on Samsung Galaxy S6 devices, representing a local privilege escalation issue that can be exploited to trigger unauthorized system disruptions. This flaw exists within the mobile application's handling of specific file operations or memory management processes, creating an avenue for malicious local users to induce system instability through deliberate process termination. The vulnerability is classified as a denial of service condition where the targeted application crashes and becomes unavailable to legitimate users, effectively disrupting normal device functionality and user experience.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and error handling mechanisms within the Gallery application's codebase. When processing certain image or media files, the application fails to properly validate file structures or memory allocations, leading to unexpected termination when encountering malformed or specially crafted input data. This weakness creates a condition where a local attacker can exploit the application's failure to handle exceptional cases gracefully, resulting in the complete crash of the Gallery process and subsequent system instability. The flaw operates at the application level rather than the kernel level, making it a local privilege escalation vulnerability that requires physical access or prior compromise of the device to exploit effectively.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability significantly impacts user experience and device reliability on affected Samsung Galaxy S6 devices. The denial of service condition can occur during routine gallery browsing activities, potentially causing users to lose access to their media collections and forcing system restarts. The impact extends beyond simple inconvenience as users may lose access to important photos and videos during critical moments, while also creating potential security concerns if the application crash occurs during sensitive operations. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of robust error handling and input validation in mobile applications, particularly those handling user-generated content where malicious input could be introduced through various vectors.
Security professionals should consider this vulnerability in the context of the broader ATT&CK framework where local privilege escalation and denial of service techniques represent common tactics for compromising system availability. The CWE classification for this issue would likely fall under CWE-20: Improper Input Validation, as the vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of file structures and memory operations. Organizations should implement comprehensive patch management strategies to address this vulnerability, ensuring that all Samsung Galaxy S6 devices receive timely security updates. Additionally, users should be educated about the risks of downloading media from untrusted sources and the importance of keeping devices updated with the latest security patches to prevent exploitation of such local privilege escalation vulnerabilities.