CVE-2018-13042 in 1Password App
Summary
by MITRE
The 1Password application 6.8 for Android is affected by a Denial Of Service vulnerability. By starting the activity com.agilebits.onepassword.filling.openyolo.OpenYoloDeleteActivity or com.agilebits.onepassword.filling.openyolo.OpenYoloRetrieveActivity from an external application (since they are exported), it is possible to crash the 1Password instance.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/05/2024
The vulnerability described in CVE-2018-13042 represents a critical security flaw in the 1Password Android application version 6.8 that exposes the application to unauthorized denial of service attacks. This issue stems from the improper exposure of internal activities within the application's manifest file, specifically the OpenYoloDeleteActivity and OpenYoloRetrieveActivity components. These activities are designated as exported, meaning they can be invoked by any external application installed on the device without proper authentication or authorization checks, creating a significant attack surface that adversaries can exploit to disrupt the application's normal operation.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the manipulation of Android's component exposure mechanism where the application's manifest file contains activities marked with android:exported="true" without appropriate intent filters or permission requirements. This configuration allows malicious applications to directly launch these activities through explicit intents, triggering internal application crashes or abnormal termination states. The flaw operates at the application layer of the Android operating system, leveraging the platform's activity management system to force the 1Password application into an unrecoverable state, effectively rendering it unusable for legitimate users who rely on the password manager for their security needs.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents a severe risk to end users as it allows attackers to remotely disrupt the functionality of a critical security application that many users depend upon for managing their online credentials and sensitive information. The impact extends beyond simple service disruption since 1Password serves as a primary tool for password management, and its compromise could lead to cascading security issues where users are unable to access their accounts or retrieve necessary login information. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it requires no privileged access or root capabilities from the attacking application, making it accessible to any malicious actor who can install an application on the target device.
The security implications of this vulnerability align with CWE-664, which addresses improper control of a resource through lifetime management, and specifically relates to improper export of Android components. This flaw also maps to ATT&CK technique T1489, which covers "Service Stop" and represents a form of denial of service attack that targets application availability. The vulnerability demonstrates poor secure coding practices in Android application development where developers failed to implement proper access controls for internal application components. The lack of proper intent filtering and permission verification creates an attack vector that directly contradicts the principle of least privilege, allowing unauthorized external entities to manipulate the application's internal state and cause system instability. Organizations and users should implement immediate mitigations including updating to patched versions of the application and monitoring for unauthorized application installations that might attempt to exploit this vulnerability.
The remediation approach for this vulnerability requires the application developers to modify the Android manifest file to remove the exported attribute from the affected activities or implement proper permission checks before allowing external applications to invoke these components. Additionally, implementing intent filtering mechanisms and proper authentication checks would prevent unauthorized access to these internal application functions. Security teams should also consider implementing application integrity monitoring to detect and alert on unauthorized access attempts to sensitive application components. This vulnerability serves as a critical reminder of the importance of proper Android security configuration management and the necessity of conducting thorough security assessments of application components before deployment to production environments.