CVE-2016-6746 in Android
Summary
by MITRE
An information disclosure vulnerability in the NVIDIA GPU driver in Android before 2016-11-05 could enable a local malicious application to access data outside of its permission levels. This issue is rated as High because it could be used to access sensitive data without explicit user permission. Android ID: A-30955105. References: NVIDIA N-CVE-2016-6746.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/30/2022
This vulnerability resides within the NVIDIA GPU driver component of Android systems, specifically affecting versions prior to the 2016-11-05 security patch. The flaw represents a critical information disclosure weakness that allows local malicious applications to bypass normal permission boundaries and access data that should otherwise be restricted to higher privilege levels. The vulnerability stems from improper memory management and access control mechanisms within the GPU driver's kernel-space implementation, creating a pathway for privilege escalation attacks.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the manipulation of GPU memory operations and buffer handling within the driver's kernel modules. Attackers can leverage this weakness to read memory regions that contain sensitive data such as cryptographic keys, user credentials, or application data belonging to other processes. The issue manifests as a direct memory access violation where the GPU driver fails to properly validate memory access requests from user-space applications, allowing unauthorized data retrieval through specially crafted GPU operations. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-200 category of "Information Exposure" and represents a classic privilege escalation vector through kernel-level memory corruption.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft, as it enables attackers to gain unauthorized access to sensitive system resources and user data without requiring explicit user interaction or elevated privileges. Malicious applications that successfully exploit this weakness can potentially access confidential information from other applications, extract encryption keys used for secure communications, or obtain authentication tokens that could lead to further system compromise. The local nature of this attack means that only applications already installed on the device need to be compromised to exploit the vulnerability, making it particularly dangerous in environments where multiple applications share the same device. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1068 which describes "Local Privilege Escalation" and specifically targets the kernel-level components that control system access controls.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate deployment of the Android security patch released in November 2016, which includes updated NVIDIA GPU driver components with proper memory access controls and validation mechanisms. System administrators should ensure all devices are updated to the latest security patches and implement regular vulnerability scanning to identify any remaining vulnerable components. Additional protective measures include monitoring for suspicious GPU memory access patterns and implementing application sandboxing controls that limit the ability of malicious applications to exploit kernel-level vulnerabilities. The fix addresses the root cause by strengthening the GPU driver's memory management routines and implementing proper access control checks that validate all memory operations against the requesting application's permission levels. Organizations should also consider implementing network-based monitoring solutions that can detect unusual GPU activity patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts.