CVE-2016-10416 in Android
Summary
by MITRE
In Android before 2018-04-05 or earlier security patch level on Qualcomm Snapdragon Mobile and Snapdragon Wear MDM9206, MDM9607, MDM9615, MDM9625, MDM9635M, MDM9640, MDM9645, MSM8909W, SD 210/SD 212/SD 205, SD 400, SD 410/12, SD 425, SD 430, SD 450, SD 600, SD 615/16/SD 415, SD 617, SD 625, SD 650/52, SD 800, SD 808, SD 810, and SD 820, UE crash is seen due to IPCMem exhaustion, when UDP data is pumped to UE's ULP (UserPlane Location protocol) UDP port 7275.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/27/2020
This vulnerability affects Qualcomm Snapdragon mobile and wearable chipsets across multiple generations including MDM9206, MDM9607, MDM9615, MDM9625, MDM9635M, MDM9640, MDM9645, MSM8909W, and various SD series processors. The issue manifests as a user space crash within the Android operating system when excessive UDP data is transmitted to the User Plane Location protocol UDP port 7275. This represents a critical denial of service condition that can be exploited by remote attackers to disrupt cellular connectivity and potentially compromise device functionality.
The technical flaw stems from improper handling of inter-process communication memory allocation within the Qualcomm Snapdragon modem subsystem. When UDP packets are continuously transmitted to port 7275, the IPCMem (Inter-Process Communication Memory) resources become exhausted, leading to a system crash that affects the User Equipment (UE) functionality. This vulnerability falls under CWE-400, specifically related to resource exhaustion in memory management, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004 for network denial of service attacks. The flaw exists in the modem's handling of user plane protocol data and demonstrates inadequate bounds checking and memory allocation controls within the communication stack.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially affect critical communication functions on mobile devices. When exploited, the vulnerability can cause complete cellular connectivity loss, preventing emergency calls and data transmission. The crash occurs at the modem level, meaning that even if the application layer remains functional, the underlying cellular radio capabilities become unavailable. This makes the vulnerability particularly dangerous in emergency scenarios or mission-critical applications where reliable cellular communication is essential. The vulnerability affects devices running Android versions prior to the 2018-04-05 security patch, indicating that it represents a long-standing issue in Qualcomm's modem implementation.
Mitigation strategies should focus on applying the official Android security patches released in April 2018, which address the IPC memory exhaustion issue through improved resource management and bounds checking. Network administrators should implement monitoring solutions to detect unusual UDP traffic patterns on port 7275, as this can serve as an early indicator of exploitation attempts. Device manufacturers should consider implementing rate limiting and traffic shaping for UDP communications on this specific port. Additionally, security teams should conduct vulnerability assessments to identify affected devices within their infrastructure and prioritize patch deployment. The vulnerability highlights the importance of modem-level security considerations in mobile device architectures and underscores the need for comprehensive testing of inter-process communication mechanisms. Organizations should also consider implementing network segmentation to limit exposure and establish incident response procedures for handling modem-level crashes that could affect cellular connectivity across multiple devices.