CVE-2016-8471 in Android
Summary
by MITRE
An information disclosure vulnerability in the MediaTek driver could enable a local malicious application to access data outside of its permission levels. This issue is rated as Moderate because it first requires compromising a privileged process. Product: Android. Versions: N/A. Android ID: A-31528890. References: MT-ALPS02961380.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/27/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-8471 represents a significant information disclosure flaw within MediaTek driver components that operates within the Android operating system ecosystem. This weakness specifically targets the privilege separation mechanisms that govern how applications interact with system resources and hardware drivers. The vulnerability stems from inadequate access controls within the MediaTek driver implementation, which fails to properly enforce security boundaries between different permission levels. The issue manifests when a local malicious application attempts to access data that should be restricted to higher privilege processes, creating an unexpected information leakage scenario. This type of vulnerability directly impacts the core security model of Android systems where proper privilege separation is fundamental to maintaining system integrity.
The technical flaw underlying CVE-2016-8471 resides in the MediaTek driver's insufficient validation of access requests from user-space applications. When applications attempt to communicate with hardware through the MediaTek driver interface, the system should enforce strict permission checks that align with the application's declared capabilities and user privileges. However, the driver implementation fails to properly validate these access requests, allowing unauthorized data access that bypasses normal security boundaries. This flaw operates at the kernel level where the driver interface is implemented, making it particularly dangerous as it can potentially expose sensitive system information, device-specific data, or communication channel details. The vulnerability specifically affects the driver's handling of memory mapping and data access operations that should normally be restricted to privileged processes only.
From an operational standpoint, the impact of this vulnerability is rated as moderate due to the prerequisite requirement of first compromising a privileged process, but this initial compromise creates a dangerous escalation path. An attacker must already have achieved some level of system access or privilege to exploit this vulnerability effectively, but once the initial compromise is achieved, the information disclosure can provide substantial insights into the system's internal state. The vulnerability can potentially expose device identifiers, communication protocols, memory addresses, or other sensitive data that could aid in further exploitation attempts. This information leakage creates opportunities for attackers to craft more sophisticated attacks, including privilege escalation, data exfiltration, or targeted exploitation of other system components. The attack vector typically involves local application execution where malicious software can leverage the driver flaw to access restricted data areas.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2016-8471 should focus on both immediate patching and long-term architectural improvements to the driver security model. The primary solution involves applying the official MediaTek driver updates that address the access control validation issues within the driver implementation. System administrators and device manufacturers should prioritize the deployment of these patches to eliminate the vulnerability at its source. Additionally, implementing additional runtime protections such as kernel address space layout randomization and enhanced memory access controls can provide defense-in-depth measures. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-284 which specifically addresses improper access control issues, and it relates to ATT&CK technique T1068 which covers privilege escalation through exploitation of system vulnerabilities. Organizations should also consider implementing monitoring solutions that can detect anomalous access patterns to driver interfaces, as these access attempts may indicate exploitation attempts. Regular security audits of driver implementations and privilege management systems should be conducted to identify similar weaknesses before they can be exploited by malicious actors.