CVE-2017-13161 in Android
Summary
by MITRE
An elevation of privilege vulnerability in the Broadcom wireless driver. Product: Android. Versions: Android kernel. Android ID A-63930471. References: BC-V2017092501.
Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/12/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-13161 represents a critical elevation of privilege flaw within the Broadcom wireless driver component of the Android kernel ecosystem. This vulnerability specifically affects the wireless networking subsystem and exploits a weakness in how the kernel handles certain wireless driver operations, creating an opportunity for malicious actors to escalate their privileges from a regular user context to a privileged system level. The issue stems from improper input validation and memory management within the wireless driver's kernel space implementation, allowing attackers to manipulate kernel data structures and execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through a combination of memory corruption and privilege escalation techniques that leverage the kernel's wireless driver interface. Attackers can craft malicious wireless network packets or manipulate driver state information to trigger a buffer overflow or use-after-free condition within the Broadcom wireless driver implementation. This flaw falls under the CWE-119 weakness category, which encompasses memory safety issues including buffer overflows and improper memory access patterns. The vulnerability specifically targets the kernel's wireless subsystem where the Broadcom driver operates with elevated privileges, making it particularly dangerous as it allows attackers to bypass normal security boundaries and gain root access to the device.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to Android devices running affected kernel versions, as it enables attackers to gain complete control over the device without requiring physical access or prior authentication. The exploitation can occur remotely through malicious wireless networks or through compromised wireless infrastructure, making it particularly concerning for enterprise environments and public WiFi networks. The vulnerability affects the core Android kernel functionality and impacts all devices using Broadcom wireless chipsets, including smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices. The Android ID A-63930471 indicates this was tracked as a specific security issue within Google's internal vulnerability tracking system, highlighting its severity and the need for immediate remediation.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2017-13161 require immediate deployment of security patches from device manufacturers and Google, as well as implementation of network monitoring solutions to detect potential exploitation attempts. Organizations should prioritize updating their Android devices to versions that include the patched kernel components, particularly focusing on devices that rely heavily on wireless connectivity. Network administrators should implement additional monitoring of wireless traffic patterns and consider deploying network segmentation strategies to limit potential attack surface. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1068, which covers privilege escalation through local exploits, and represents a classic example of how kernel-level vulnerabilities can be leveraged for system compromise. Device manufacturers should also consider implementing additional security controls such as kernel address space layout randomization and stack canaries to further reduce the exploitability of similar vulnerabilities in the wireless driver subsystem.