CVE-2018-11947 in Snapdragon Auto
Summary
by MITRE
The txrx stats req might be double freed in the pdev detach when the host driver is unloading in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Consumer Electronics Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Voice & Music, Snapdragon Wired Infrastructure and Networking in IPQ8064, MDM9150, MDM9206, MDM9607, MDM9640, MDM9650, MSM8996AU, QCA6174A, QCA6574AU, QCA9377, QCA9379, QCA9558, QCA9880, QCA9886, QCA9980, QCS405, QCS605, SD 210/SD 212/SD 205, SD 425, SD 427, SD 430, SD 435, SD 450, SD 625, SD 636, SD 675, SD 712 / SD 710 / SD 670, SD 730, SD 820A, SD 835, SD 845 / SD 850, SD 855, SDA660, SDM630, SDM660, SDX20, SDX24
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/24/2020
The vulnerability described in CVE-2018-11947 represents a critical double free condition that occurs during the device driver cleanup process in Qualcomm's wireless networking stack. This flaw manifests specifically during the pdev detach operation when the host driver unloads, creating a scenario where memory allocated for transmit and receive statistics requests gets freed twice, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution or system instability. The vulnerability affects a wide range of Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets spanning automotive, consumer electronics, industrial IoT, and mobile connectivity applications, indicating a fundamental issue within the driver architecture that impacts multiple product lines.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from improper memory management during driver shutdown sequences, where the transmit and receive statistics request handling code fails to properly track memory allocation states. When the driver unloads, the system attempts to free memory resources that may already have been freed previously, creating a classic double free vulnerability that can be exploited by malicious actors to manipulate heap memory structures. This type of vulnerability falls under CWE-415, which specifically addresses double free conditions in memory management operations. The flaw demonstrates poor resource tracking and memory deallocation practices that violate fundamental security principles of proper memory lifecycle management.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends across multiple domains of Qualcomm's product portfolio, affecting systems ranging from automotive infotainment systems to industrial IoT deployments and mobile devices. Attackers could potentially exploit this double free condition to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges, leading to complete system compromise or persistent backdoor access. The widespread affected chipset list indicates that this vulnerability could impact millions of devices globally, particularly those running on older Snapdragon generations that may not have received timely security updates. The vulnerability's presence in both automotive and industrial applications raises significant concerns about potential safety implications and supply chain security risks.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-11947 should focus on implementing proper memory tracking mechanisms and ensuring that all memory deallocation operations are idempotent, preventing the same memory block from being freed multiple times. System administrators should prioritize applying vendor security patches and firmware updates as soon as they become available, particularly for devices in critical operational environments. The remediation approach should include code reviews of driver cleanup functions to ensure proper state tracking and memory management practices, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1068 which covers local privilege escalation through memory corruption vulnerabilities. Organizations should also implement runtime monitoring solutions to detect anomalous memory deallocation patterns that could indicate exploitation attempts against this class of vulnerability.