CVE-2016-2468 in Android
Summary
by MITRE
The Qualcomm GPU driver in Android before 2016-06-01 on Nexus 5, 5X, 6, 6P, and 7 devices allows attackers to gain privileges via a crafted application, aka internal bug 27475454.
Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/18/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-2468 represents a critical privilege escalation flaw within the Qualcomm GPU driver component of Android operating systems. This weakness specifically affected devices manufactured by Google's Nexus series including the Nexus 5, 5X, 6, 6P, and 7 models. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and improper access controls within the GPU driver kernel module, creating an exploitable condition that allows malicious applications to elevate their privileges from standard user level to system-level access. The flaw was classified as an internal bug numbered 27475454, indicating it originated from Qualcomm's internal development processes rather than being publicly disclosed through standard vulnerability reporting channels.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves a buffer overflow condition within the GPU driver's handling of specific ioctl (input/output control) commands. When a malicious application submits crafted parameters to the GPU driver through these interface calls, the driver fails to properly validate the input lengths and memory boundaries. This validation failure enables attackers to overwrite critical memory locations within the driver's execution context, ultimately allowing them to manipulate kernel memory and execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges. The vulnerability specifically targets the graphics processing unit driver's interaction with the Android HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer) and the underlying kernel components that manage GPU resources. According to CWE classification, this represents a CWE-121: Stack-based Buffer Overflow, though the actual exploitation occurs through a more complex kernel memory corruption mechanism.
The operational impact of CVE-2016-2468 is severe and far-reaching, as it provides attackers with complete system compromise capabilities. Once successfully exploited, the malicious application gains full access to the device's kernel space, enabling persistent root access that can be maintained across reboots. Attackers can then install malicious applications, access all user data, modify system files, and potentially establish backdoors for continued unauthorized access. The vulnerability affects a broad range of devices from 2014 and 2015 model years, representing millions of Android devices that were potentially compromised. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1068: Exploitation for Privilege Escalation and T1059: Command and Scripting Interpreter, as it enables attackers to execute arbitrary code with system-level privileges and maintain persistent access to compromised devices.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2016-2468 primarily involve applying the security patches released by Google and Qualcomm as part of the Android security bulletin for June 2016. Users should immediately update their devices to the latest available Android versions that contain the patched GPU driver components. Organizations managing fleets of affected devices should prioritize deployment of these security updates through enterprise mobility management solutions. Additionally, device administrators should implement application whitelisting policies to prevent installation of untrusted applications that could exploit this vulnerability. Network-level monitoring should be enhanced to detect anomalous behavior patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of secure coding practices in kernel drivers, particularly around input validation and memory management. System administrators should consider implementing device encryption and secure boot mechanisms as additional protective layers against exploitation attempts. Regular security audits of device firmware and kernel components should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities that might exist in other driver components or system services.