CVE-2016-8791 in Mate 8
Summary
by MITRE
Huawei Mate 8 phones with software Versions before NXT-AL10C00B386, Versions before NXT-CL00C92B386, Versions before NXT-DL00C17B386, Versions before NXT-TL00C01B386; Mate S phones with software Versions before CRR-CL00C92B368, Versions before CRR-CL20C92B368, Versions before CRR-TL00C01B368, Versions before CRR-UL00C00B368, Versions before CRR-UL20C00B368; and P8 phones with software Versions before GRA-TL00C01B366, Versions before GRA-CL00C92B366, Versions before GRA-CL10C92B366, Versions before GRA-UL00C00B366, Versions before GRA-UL10C00B366 allow attackers with graphic or Camera privilege to crash the system or escalate privilege.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/24/2022
This vulnerability affects Huawei mobile devices including Mate 8, Mate S, and P8 models with specific software versions prior to the mentioned build numbers. The flaw represents a critical privilege escalation vulnerability that allows attackers with camera or graphics privileges to either crash the system or escalate their privileges to higher levels within the operating environment. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and access control mechanisms within the device's operating system components that handle camera and graphics operations.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves improper privilege validation during graphics and camera service operations. When applications or processes attempt to access camera or graphics functionalities, the system fails to properly verify the privileges of the requesting entity before granting access to system resources. This weakness creates an opportunity for malicious actors to exploit the system through crafted camera or graphics operations that trigger unintended behavior in the underlying operating system. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-276, which addresses improper privilege management in software systems.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risk to device security and user privacy. Attackers who can gain access to camera or graphics services can leverage this weakness to escalate their privileges from standard user level to system level access, potentially enabling full device compromise. The impact extends beyond simple system crashes to include complete loss of device security controls, allowing unauthorized access to sensitive data, persistent backdoor installation, and complete system control. This vulnerability particularly affects mobile operating environments where graphics and camera services are frequently accessed by multiple applications.
The attack surface for this vulnerability includes any application or service that can access camera or graphics functionality on affected Huawei devices. This encompasses both legitimate applications and potentially malicious software that might be installed on the device. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper access control implementation in mobile operating systems, where graphics and camera services represent high-privilege execution paths that should be carefully protected. Organizations and individuals should immediately update affected devices to the latest software versions that contain patches for this vulnerability.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate software updates from Huawei to address the privilege escalation mechanisms. System administrators should implement device management policies that enforce automatic security updates and monitor for unauthorized applications that might exploit this vulnerability. Network security teams should be aware of potential exploitation attempts targeting these specific device models and software versions. The vulnerability highlights the critical importance of proper privilege separation in mobile operating systems and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1068, which addresses privilege escalation through local system exploits. Organizations should also consider implementing additional security controls such as application whitelisting and device encryption to protect against potential exploitation of this vulnerability.
The broader implications of this vulnerability extend to mobile security practices and the need for comprehensive security testing of graphics and camera service implementations in mobile operating systems. This type of vulnerability demonstrates how seemingly routine device functionality can become attack vectors when proper access controls are not implemented. Security researchers and device manufacturers should continue to focus on privilege management and access control mechanisms in mobile operating systems to prevent similar vulnerabilities from being introduced in future releases.