CVE-2016-6910 in Galaxy S6 Edge
Summary
by MITRE
The non-existent notification listener vulnerability was introduced in the initial Android 5.0.2 builds for the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge devices, but the vulnerability can persist on the device even after the device has been upgraded to an Android 5.1.1 or 6.0.1 build. The vulnerable system app gives a non-existent app the ability to read the notifications from the device, which a third-party app can utilize if it uses a package name of com.samsung.android.app.portalservicewidget. This vulnerability allows an unprivileged third-party app to obtain the text of the user's notifications, which tend to contain personal data.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/15/2019
The vulnerability described in CVE-2016-6910 represents a critical notification interception flaw that affected Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge devices running Android 5.0.2 and subsequent versions. This security weakness originated in the initial Android 5.0.2 builds and demonstrated the persistence of certain system-level vulnerabilities even after device upgrades to newer Android versions. The flaw specifically targeted the notification listener service mechanism, which is designed to allow legitimate applications to access notification data for accessibility and widget purposes. However, this particular vulnerability created an unintended pathway for malicious applications to exploit the notification system.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involved a malicious system application that granted unauthorized access to notification data through a specific package name registration. The vulnerable system component allowed any third-party application using the package identifier com.samsung.android.app.portalservicewidget to access the notification listener service, bypassing normal security boundaries that should protect user notifications from unauthorized access. This flaw operates at the application level and leverages the Android notification management system's trust model, where legitimate applications can register for notification access but this mechanism was improperly secured against malicious exploitation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privacy concerns to encompass significant data exposure risks. Third-party applications could extract sensitive information from user notifications, potentially including personal identification details, financial information, messages from social media platforms, email content, and other confidential data that users typically expect to remain private. This represents a direct violation of user privacy and could enable attackers to conduct social engineering attacks, identity theft, or financial fraud by harvesting information contained within notifications. The persistence of this vulnerability across Android version upgrades indicates a fundamental flaw in the device's security implementation that was not properly addressed during system updates.
Security professionals should note that this vulnerability aligns with CWE-284, which addresses improper access control in software systems, and demonstrates how Android's notification listener service can be misused when proper validation mechanisms are absent. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this as a privilege escalation technique through application-level access control bypass, where an unprivileged application gains elevated access to sensitive system data. Mitigation strategies should include immediate device firmware updates from Samsung, implementation of application whitelisting policies, and enhanced monitoring of notification listener service usage. Organizations should also consider network-level monitoring to detect suspicious application behavior and ensure that only trusted applications have access to notification data through proper security controls and access management policies.