CVE-2016-0841 in Android
Summary
by MITRE
media/libmedia/mediametadataretriever.cpp in mediaserver in Android 4.x before 4.4.4, 5.0.x before 5.0.2, 5.1.x before 5.1.1, and 6.x before 2016-04-01 mishandles cleared service binders, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via a crafted media file, aka internal bug 26040840.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/12/2022
The vulnerability described in CVE-2016-0841 represents a critical memory corruption flaw within the Android media server component that affects multiple versions of the Android operating system. This issue resides in the media/libmedia/mediametadataretriever.cpp file, which is part of the mediaserver process responsible for handling multimedia content processing and metadata extraction. The vulnerability specifically manifests when the system handles cleared service binders, creating a scenario where remote attackers can manipulate the media server to execute arbitrary code or induce denial of service conditions through carefully crafted media files.
The technical flaw stems from improper handling of service binder states within the media server's metadata retrieval functionality. When a service binder is cleared or terminated, the system should properly manage the cleanup process and prevent further access to the underlying resources. However, in the affected Android versions, the mediaplayer component fails to adequately validate or reset the state of cleared binders, creating a race condition or memory management inconsistency. This allows attackers to exploit the gap in state management by constructing malicious media files that trigger the vulnerable code path when the media server attempts to process metadata from these crafted inputs.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service scenarios, as it provides attackers with potential code execution capabilities within the context of the mediaserver process. This represents a privilege escalation vector since the mediaserver typically runs with elevated privileges to handle multimedia operations. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability by sending malicious media files through various attack vectors such as email attachments, messaging applications, or malicious websites that automatically attempt to process media content. The memory corruption aspect can lead to unpredictable behavior including system crashes, application instability, or potentially full system compromise depending on the exploitation method used.
From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, which describes heap-based buffer overflow conditions, and represents a classic example of improper resource management in mobile operating systems. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this as a privilege escalation technique through process manipulation, specifically targeting system services that handle multimedia processing. The vulnerability demonstrates the complexity of mobile operating system security where components like mediaserver must handle untrusted input from multiple sources while maintaining secure state management. Organizations should implement immediate mitigation strategies including applying the relevant Android security patches, implementing network-based restrictions on media file processing, and deploying mobile device management solutions to monitor and control media content ingestion. The vulnerability also underscores the importance of proper input validation and state management in system services, particularly those handling untrusted data from external sources.