CVE-2017-13264 in Android
Summary
by MITRE
A other vulnerability in the Android media framework (Avcdec). Product: Android. Versions: 6.0, 6.0.1, 7.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, 8.1. Android ID: A-70294343.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/21/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-13264 represents a critical flaw within the Android media framework specifically affecting the Avcdec component responsible for decoding advanced video coding content. This issue manifests in the handling of malformed video data streams and demonstrates the inherent risks associated with multimedia processing components that fail to properly validate input parameters. The vulnerability affects multiple Android versions including 6.0, 6.0.1, 7.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, and 8.1, indicating a widespread impact across the Android ecosystem and suggesting that the underlying flaw has persisted through several major releases. The Android ID A-70294343 identifies this as a specific security concern within Google's internal tracking system, highlighting the severity and recognition of the issue by the Android security team.
This vulnerability falls under the category of memory corruption issues within the media framework, specifically targeting the AVC video decoder component that processes h.264 encoded video streams. The flaw occurs during the decoding process when the system fails to properly validate the structure and boundaries of video data, potentially allowing attackers to craft malicious video content that triggers buffer overflows or other memory corruption conditions. The technical implementation involves the improper handling of video parameter sets and sequence parameter sets that are fundamental to AVC decoding operations. When processing specially crafted video files, the decoder can overwrite memory regions beyond allocated buffers, creating opportunities for arbitrary code execution or system instability.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple media playback functionality, as it represents a potential pathway for remote code execution attacks targeting Android devices. Attackers could deliver malicious video content through various channels including email attachments, web downloads, or social media platforms, potentially compromising devices without user interaction. The vulnerability's classification as an "other" type suggests it may involve complex interactions between multiple components rather than a straightforward buffer overflow, making it particularly challenging to detect and exploit. This type of flaw demonstrates the complexity of multimedia processing systems and the difficulty in ensuring complete input validation across all possible data formats and encoding variations. The impact is particularly severe given that video playback is a common user activity that occurs frequently across all Android devices.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2017-13264 should prioritize immediate patch deployment through official Android security updates, as this vulnerability represents a critical threat to device security and user privacy. Organizations should implement network-based filtering to block suspicious video content and consider device management policies that restrict media processing capabilities on vulnerable systems. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-125, which addresses out-of-bounds read conditions, and may also relate to CWE-787, concerning out-of-bounds write operations. From an attack surface perspective, this vulnerability maps to ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for command and scripting interpreter, as successful exploitation could enable attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected devices. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should specifically target media processing components, as this flaw demonstrates the importance of comprehensive input validation across all system subsystems. Device manufacturers should also consider implementing additional security controls such as address space layout randomization and stack canaries to mitigate potential exploitation attempts, while maintaining awareness of similar vulnerabilities within the broader Android media framework.