CVE-2016-10346 in Android
Summary
by MITRE
In all Qualcomm products with Android releases from CAF using the Linux kernel, an integer overflow vulnerability exists in the hypervisor.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/08/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-10346 represents a critical integer overflow flaw within the hypervisor component of Qualcomm's Android-based products that utilize the Linux kernel. This issue affects a broad range of devices manufactured by Qualcomm and deployed across various Android platforms, creating widespread potential impact for mobile device security. The vulnerability specifically resides in the hypervisor layer, which serves as a crucial intermediary between the hardware and the operating system, managing virtualization operations and resource allocation for multiple virtual machines. Understanding the context requires recognizing that Qualcomm's products leverage the Linux kernel as their foundational operating system framework, with the hypervisor providing essential virtualization capabilities for Android's security architecture.
The technical flaw manifests as an integer overflow condition within the hypervisor's memory management or resource allocation routines, where insufficient input validation allows malicious actors to manipulate integer variables beyond their maximum representable values. This overflow can result in unpredictable behavior, memory corruption, or potentially arbitrary code execution within the privileged hypervisor context. The vulnerability typically occurs when the hypervisor processes user-supplied data or handles memory allocation requests without proper bounds checking, allowing attackers to craft inputs that cause integer variables to wrap around to negative values or exceed maximum limits. This flaw directly relates to CWE-190, which categorizes integer overflow conditions that can lead to memory corruption and privilege escalation, and may also align with CWE-191, covering integer underflow scenarios that can produce similar security consequences. The exploitation of this vulnerability requires sophisticated understanding of the hypervisor's internal operations and memory management mechanisms.
The operational impact of CVE-2016-10346 extends beyond individual device compromise to potentially affect entire ecosystems of Qualcomm-powered devices, including smartphones, tablets, and IoT devices that rely on Qualcomm's Snapdragon processors. Attackers exploiting this vulnerability could gain unauthorized access to the hypervisor layer, potentially escalating privileges to achieve full system compromise or create persistent backdoors within the device's security architecture. The consequences include unauthorized data access, device manipulation, and potential information disclosure that could affect user privacy and corporate security. This vulnerability particularly impacts devices running Android versions that incorporate Qualcomm's modified Linux kernel implementations, making it relevant across multiple Android releases from 2015 through 2016. The attack surface is further expanded due to the hypervisor's role in managing secure execution environments, potentially affecting features such as hardware security modules, trusted execution environments, and secure boot processes that rely on hypervisor integrity.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate patch deployment through Qualcomm's security updates and Android platform updates, as the fix typically involves implementing proper integer bounds checking and input validation within the hypervisor code. System administrators and device manufacturers should prioritize the application of security patches to prevent exploitation, while users should ensure their devices receive timely updates from manufacturers. Additional defensive measures include implementing network-based monitoring to detect anomalous hypervisor behavior, deploying mobile device management solutions with enhanced security policies, and considering the use of hypervisor hardening techniques such as stack canaries and address space layout randomization. The remediation process should also include comprehensive security testing of hypervisor components to identify similar integer overflow conditions that may exist in other parts of the system. Organizations should reference ATT&CK framework techniques related to privilege escalation and hypervisor attacks to understand potential exploitation patterns, while also following industry guidelines from NIST and other security bodies for vulnerability management and remediation processes.