CVE-2016-8764 in P8 Lite
Summary
by MITRE
The TrustZone driver in Huawei P9 phones with software Versions earlier than EVA-AL10C00B352 and P9 Lite with software VNS-L21C185B130 and earlier versions and P8 Lite with software ALE-L02C636B150 and earlier versions has an input validation vulnerability, which allows attackers to read and write user-mode memory data anywhere in the TrustZone driver.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/24/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-8764 represents a critical security flaw within the TrustZone driver component of several Huawei mobile devices including the P9, P9 Lite, and P8 Lite models. This issue stems from inadequate input validation mechanisms within the secure execution environment that governs the interaction between the application processor and the TrustZone security subsystem. The vulnerability specifically affects firmware versions prior to EVA-AL10C00B352 for P9 devices, VNS-L21C185B130 for P9 Lite models, and ALE-L02C636B150 for P8 Lite devices, indicating a widespread impact across multiple device generations and firmware variants.
The technical flaw manifests as a privilege escalation vulnerability that allows malicious actors to bypass the normal security boundaries between normal world and secure world execution environments. This vulnerability specifically enables attackers to perform arbitrary read and write operations on user-mode memory data within the TrustZone driver, effectively undermining the fundamental security principles that TrustZone is designed to enforce. The flaw operates by exploiting insufficient validation of input parameters passed to the TrustZone driver, allowing crafted malicious inputs to manipulate the driver's behavior and access memory regions that should remain protected from unauthorized access.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and multifaceted, as it provides attackers with direct access to sensitive data and system resources that are typically isolated within the secure execution environment. An attacker with physical access to a vulnerable device or the ability to execute malicious code on the device could potentially extract cryptographic keys, personal data, or other confidential information stored within the TrustZone. The vulnerability's implications extend beyond simple data theft, as it could enable complete system compromise by allowing attackers to modify system components, install malicious firmware, or escalate privileges to gain full administrative control over the device. This represents a critical failure in the security architecture that undermines the core trust model of the mobile platform.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, which describes heap-based buffer overflow conditions, and demonstrates characteristics consistent with improper input validation issues that can lead to memory corruption and privilege escalation. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving privilege escalation and credential access, specifically leveraging the device's security subsystem to gain elevated privileges and access to sensitive information. The exploitation of this vulnerability would typically involve crafting malicious inputs that manipulate the TrustZone driver's function calls, potentially using techniques such as heap spraying or buffer overflow exploitation to achieve the desired memory access. Organizations and users should implement immediate mitigation strategies including firmware updates, device lockdown procedures, and monitoring for suspicious activities that could indicate exploitation attempts, while also considering the broader implications for mobile security ecosystems that rely on hardware-based security mechanisms.