CVE-2016-6673 in Android
Summary
by MITRE
The NVIDIA camera driver in Android before 2016-10-05 on Nexus 9 devices allows attackers to gain privileges via a crafted application, aka internal bug 30204201.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/01/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-6673 represents a critical privilege escalation flaw within the NVIDIA camera driver component of Android operating systems. This security weakness specifically affected Nexus 9 devices running Android versions prior to the October 5, 2016 security patch release. The vulnerability stems from improper input validation and access control mechanisms within the camera driver's kernel space implementation, creating a pathway for malicious applications to elevate their privileges from standard user level to system level access. The flaw demonstrates a classic security misconfiguration where the driver fails to properly authenticate or authorize requests made to its privileged interfaces, allowing arbitrary code execution with elevated privileges. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-264 category of "Permissions, Privileges, and Access Controls" and represents a significant weakness in the Android security model's defense-in-depth principles.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through a crafted malicious application that leverages the camera driver's insufficient validation mechanisms to manipulate kernel-level operations. Attackers can construct specific input parameters or API calls that bypass normal access controls, ultimately gaining system-level privileges that would normally be restricted to trusted system components. The camera driver's interface exposes kernel functions that should only be accessible to trusted system processes, but the lack of proper validation allows unprivileged applications to invoke these functions directly. This exploitation technique aligns with ATT&CK framework tactic TA0004 (Privilege Escalation) and specifically targets the privilege escalation sub-technique T1068 (Local Privilege Escalation) by leveraging driver-level vulnerabilities to gain unauthorized system access. The vulnerability's impact is particularly severe because it allows attackers to execute arbitrary code with the highest privileges available on the device, potentially enabling full system compromise.
The operational impact of CVE-2016-6673 extends beyond simple privilege escalation to encompass complete system compromise and data exfiltration capabilities. Once an attacker gains system-level privileges through this vulnerability, they can access all device resources including encrypted storage, communication channels, and sensitive user data. The vulnerability affects the Android security model's integrity by undermining the kernel-level protection mechanisms that are fundamental to the operating system's security architecture. This weakness creates a persistent backdoor that can be exploited repeatedly, as the vulnerability exists in the kernel driver itself rather than in user-space applications. The impact is particularly concerning for mobile devices where users expect a high degree of security isolation between applications and system resources. The vulnerability also affects the trust model of the Android platform, as it demonstrates that even trusted system components like device drivers can contain exploitable flaws that compromise overall system security.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2016-6673 primarily involve applying the vendor-provided security patches released on October 5, 2016, which addressed the privilege escalation vulnerability in the NVIDIA camera driver. Organizations should ensure all Nexus 9 devices are updated to the latest Android security patches, as this vulnerability was specifically addressed through kernel-level modifications that corrected the access control mechanisms. System administrators should implement comprehensive patch management procedures to ensure timely deployment of security updates across all affected devices. Additional protective measures include monitoring for suspicious application behavior that might indicate exploitation attempts, implementing application whitelisting policies to restrict potentially malicious applications, and conducting regular security assessments of device drivers and kernel modules. The vulnerability highlights the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and demonstrates the critical role that driver-level security plays in overall mobile device security. Organizations should also consider implementing mobile device management solutions that can automatically apply security updates and monitor for known vulnerabilities in device drivers and system components.