CVE-2017-8143 in Honor 5C
Summary
by MITRE
Wi-Fi driver of Honor 5C and P9 Lite Huawei smart phones with software versions earlier than NEM-L21C432B351 and versions earlier than VNS-L21C10B381 has a DoS vulnerability. An attacker may trick a user into installing a malicious application and the application can access invalid address of driver to crash the system.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/11/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-8143 represents a critical denial of service flaw within the Wi-Fi driver component of specific Huawei smartphone models including the Honor 5C and P9 Lite. This weakness stems from insufficient input validation and memory management within the device's wireless networking stack, creating an exploitable condition that can be leveraged by malicious actors to disrupt normal device operations. The vulnerability affects devices running software versions prior to NEM-L21C432B351 for the Honor 5C and VNS-L21C10B381 for the P9 Lite, indicating a widespread issue across multiple firmware releases that failed to address this fundamental security weakness.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs through a carefully crafted malicious application that can be installed on the targeted device. When executed, this application exploits a flaw in the Wi-Fi driver's memory handling mechanisms, specifically targeting invalid memory addresses that the driver attempts to access during normal operation. The flaw manifests as a lack of proper bounds checking and validation when processing Wi-Fi-related data structures, allowing the malicious application to trigger a memory access violation that results in an immediate system crash. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-125 weakness category, which specifically addresses out-of-bounds read conditions that can lead to system instability and denial of service scenarios. The exploitation technique aligns with ATT&CK framework tactic T1059 which covers execution through malicious applications and T1499 which encompasses denial of service attacks.
The operational impact of CVE-2017-8143 extends beyond simple device disruption, as it represents a significant security risk for users who may unknowingly install compromised applications. The vulnerability creates an attack surface that can be exploited without requiring physical access to the device or advanced technical skills from the attacker. Once successfully exploited, the system crash can occur at any time during normal Wi-Fi operation, potentially interrupting critical communications or data transfers. The persistence of this vulnerability across multiple firmware versions suggests that Huawei failed to implement proper security patches or that the issue was not adequately addressed in their security update process. This leaves users vulnerable to repeated exploitation attempts and creates a scenario where legitimate device functionality can be disrupted at will by malicious actors.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate firmware updates from Huawei to address the underlying driver flaw. Users should ensure their devices are running the latest available software versions that contain patches for this specific vulnerability. Network administrators and security professionals should implement application whitelisting policies to prevent installation of untrusted applications that could exploit this weakness. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of secure coding practices in mobile device drivers, particularly around memory management and input validation. Organizations should conduct regular security assessments of mobile device firmware to identify similar vulnerabilities that could affect their deployed devices. Additionally, users should exercise caution when installing applications from untrusted sources and maintain awareness of the security implications of their mobile device usage patterns. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical need for comprehensive security testing of mobile device components, particularly those handling network communications and system resources.