CVE-2015-9222 in RomPager
Summary
by MITRE
In Android before 2018-04-05 or earlier security patch level on Qualcomm Snapdragon Mobile and Snapdragon Wear MSM8909W, SD 210/SD 212/SD 205, SD 400, SD 410/12, SD 425, SD 427, SD 430, SD 435, SD 450, SD 625, SD 650/52, SD 800, SD 808, SD 810, SD 820, SD 835, SD 845, SDM630, SDM636, SDM660, and Snapdragon_High_Med_2016, processing erroneous bitstreams may result in a HW freeze. FW should detect the HW freeze based on watchdog timer, but because the watchdog timer is not enabled, an infinite loop occurs, resulting in a device freeze.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/11/2024
This vulnerability affects Qualcomm Snapdragon mobile and wear processors across multiple generations including MSM8909W, SD 210/212/205, SD 400, SD 410/12, SD 425, SD 427, SD 430, SD 435, SD 450, SD 625, SD 650/52, SD 800, SD 808, SD 810, SD 820, SD 835, SD 845, SDM630, SDM636, and SDM660 processors. The flaw resides in the hardware processing of malformed bitstreams within the multimedia decoding subsystem, specifically impacting video and audio processing capabilities. The vulnerability represents a classic hardware-level denial of service condition where erroneous data processing triggers system instability.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate error handling within the hardware decoding pipeline. When malformed or corrupted bitstreams are processed by the multimedia hardware components, the system enters an infinite loop state due to the absence of proper watchdog timer functionality. This condition occurs at the hardware level rather than in software, making it particularly challenging to detect and remediate through traditional software patches. The watchdog timer mechanism that should normally detect and recover from hardware freezes is either disabled or malfunctioning, allowing the system to remain in a perpetual loop state.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates a reliable denial of service condition that can render devices completely unresponsive. The infinite loop results in complete device freeze, effectively making the affected hardware unusable until manual intervention or power cycle occurs. This represents a significant security concern as it can be exploited remotely through malicious media files or network-delivered content that triggers the malformed bitstream processing. The vulnerability affects devices running Android versions prior to the 2018-04-05 security patch level, leaving millions of devices potentially vulnerable in the field.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-691, which addresses insufficient monitoring and error handling in hardware systems, and can be categorized under ATT&CK technique T1499.004 for network denial of service. The weakness manifests as a hardware-level buffer overflow condition or improper input validation within the multimedia processing pipeline, where the system fails to properly validate or handle malformed input data. Organizations should implement immediate patch management protocols to ensure all affected devices receive the relevant security updates from their manufacturers. Additionally, network administrators should consider implementing content filtering measures to prevent the delivery of potentially malicious media files to vulnerable systems. The vulnerability highlights the critical importance of robust hardware-level error handling and watchdog mechanisms in embedded systems, particularly those handling multimedia processing in mobile environments.