CVE-2017-18300 in Snapdragon Mobile
Summary
by MITRE
Secure display content could be accessed by third party trusted application after creating a fault in other trusted applications in Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Wear in version MDM9206, MDM9607, MDM9650, SD 210/SD 212/SD 205, SD 835, SDA660.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/30/2023
This vulnerability resides within the Qualcomm Snapdragon mobile platform ecosystem and represents a critical security flaw that undermines the fundamental trust model of mobile device security. The issue manifests when a malicious or compromised trusted application creates a fault that allows unauthorized access to secure display content, effectively breaking the isolation mechanisms that should protect sensitive information. The vulnerability affects multiple generations of Snapdragon chipsets including the MDM9206, MDM9607, MDM9650, SD 210/SD 212/SD 205, SD 835, and SDA660 platforms, indicating a widespread architectural weakness that impacts a significant portion of the mobile security landscape.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability stems from inadequate fault handling mechanisms within the secure execution environment of these mobile processors. When a trusted application experiences a fault condition, the system fails to properly enforce security boundaries that should prevent unauthorized access to secure display content. This represents a direct violation of the principle of least privilege and compartmentalization that forms the cornerstone of mobile security architectures. The flaw allows for privilege escalation and information disclosure attacks that can compromise the integrity of secure display elements, potentially exposing sensitive user data, authentication credentials, or proprietary information that should remain isolated from other applications.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates a severe risk for mobile device users and organizations relying on Snapdragon-based devices for security-sensitive operations. The attack vector requires only a single compromised trusted application to potentially compromise the entire secure display environment, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise settings where multiple applications may be running with elevated privileges. The implications extend beyond individual user privacy concerns to include potential corporate espionage, financial fraud, and data breaches that could affect millions of devices across various OEM implementations. This vulnerability directly aligns with CWE-248, which addresses "Uncaught Exception" in software systems, and represents a failure in proper exception handling within the secure execution environment.
The attack surface for this vulnerability encompasses all applications that may be compromised or exploited within the trusted application ecosystem, including system-level components, device drivers, and security-sensitive applications. Defense in depth becomes critically important as this flaw demonstrates how a single point of failure in the secure execution environment can compromise the entire display security model. Organizations should implement immediate mitigation strategies including firmware updates from device manufacturers, application sandboxing measures, and monitoring for anomalous behavior that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of proper security testing and validation of secure execution environments, as outlined in the NIST SP 800-155 guidelines for secure mobile device architectures. This represents a significant concern for mobile security frameworks and emphasizes the need for robust isolation mechanisms between trusted applications and secure display content as defined in the MITRE ATT&CK framework for mobile threats.