CVE-2015-9162 in Android
Summary
by MITRE
In Android before 2018-04-05 or earlier security patch level on Qualcomm Snapdragon Mobile SD 410/12, SD 617, SD 650/52, SD 800, SD 808, and SD 810, in the function "Certificate_CreateWithBuffer" in the QSEE app TQS, in case of memory allocation failure, we free the memory and return the pointer without setting it to NULL.
Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/26/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-9162 represents a critical memory management flaw within the Qualcomm Snapdragon mobile platform's Trusted Execution Environment TQS application. This issue affects Android devices released before the 2018-04-05 security patch level, specifically targeting Snapdragon SoCs including the SD 410/12, SD 617, SD 650/52, SD 800, SD 808, and SD 810 chipsets. The flaw resides in the Certificate_CreateWithBuffer function where improper memory handling creates a potential exploitation vector for attackers seeking to compromise device security.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from a classic use-after-free condition that occurs when memory allocation fails during certificate processing within the secure environment. When the memory allocation function returns an error, the system correctly frees the allocated memory block but fails to set the pointer reference to NULL. This creates a scenario where subsequent code operations might attempt to access the freed memory location, potentially leading to unpredictable behavior, information disclosure, or arbitrary code execution within the trusted execution environment. The vulnerability directly maps to CWE-416, which describes the use of freed memory condition that occurs when a pointer is used after the memory it references has been freed, and potentially CWE-476 which addresses null pointer dereference conditions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple memory corruption, as it affects the fundamental security architecture of the device's trusted execution environment. Attackers who successfully exploit this flaw could potentially gain unauthorized access to sensitive cryptographic operations, certificate management functions, and other security-critical processes that operate within the TQS application. This represents a significant threat to device security since the Trusted Execution Environment is designed to isolate sensitive operations from the main operating system, making such exploitation particularly dangerous. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for command and scripting interpreter, as exploitation could enable attackers to execute malicious code within the secure environment, and T1566 for phishing attacks, since compromised certificate handling could facilitate man-in-the-middle attacks on secure communications.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate deployment of the relevant security patches released by Qualcomm and device manufacturers, as well as comprehensive system updates that address the memory management error in the TQS application. Organizations should implement robust monitoring for potential exploitation attempts and maintain detailed forensic capabilities to detect any unauthorized access attempts to the trusted execution environment. Device manufacturers must ensure that all affected Snapdragon platforms receive timely security updates, and users should be advised to install available patches immediately. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of proper memory management practices in security-critical applications, emphasizing the need for thorough code reviews and static analysis tools to identify similar patterns in other system components. Additionally, implementing proper pointer validation and null checking mechanisms in all memory management functions can prevent similar issues from occurring in future implementations.