CVE-2019-10481 in Snapdragon Auto
Summary
by MITRE
Out of bound access occurs while handling the WMI FW event due to lack of check of buffer argument which comes directly from the WLAN FW in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Consumer Electronics Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Voice & Music, Snapdragon Wired Infrastructure and Networking in APQ8096AU, IPQ4019, IPQ8064, IPQ8074, MDM9607, MSM8996AU, QCA6574AU, QCA8081, QCN7605, SDX55, SM6150, SM7150, SM8150
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/19/2019
This vulnerability represents a critical out-of-bounds memory access flaw in Qualcomm's Snapdragon automotive and consumer connectivity chipsets that affects multiple hardware platforms including the APQ8096AU, IPQ4019, and various other models. The issue manifests specifically when processing WMI firmware events, where the system fails to properly validate buffer arguments received directly from the WLAN firmware component. This fundamental lack of input validation creates a potential exploitation vector that could allow attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause system instability. The vulnerability impacts a broad range of devices including automotive systems, consumer electronics, industrial IoT deployments, and mobile platforms, making it particularly concerning from a cybersecurity perspective.
The technical root cause stems from insufficient buffer boundary checking within the WMI event handling code path, which directly processes data from the WLAN firmware without adequate validation of buffer sizes or memory boundaries. When the WLAN firmware sends event data to the system, the receiving code does not verify that the incoming buffer parameters fall within expected ranges or that sufficient memory exists for processing. This absence of validation creates a classic buffer overflow condition where maliciously crafted WMI events could trigger memory corruption. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-129 as "Improper Validation of Array Index" and falls within the broader category of memory safety issues that have been extensively documented in cybersecurity literature. From an attack framework perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for Command and Scripting Interpreter and T1547.001 for Registry Run Keys/Startup Folder, as exploitation could enable persistence mechanisms.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends across multiple deployment scenarios including automotive infotainment systems, industrial IoT devices, and mobile platforms where Snapdragon chipsets are prevalent. An attacker with access to the WLAN firmware communication channel could potentially exploit this vulnerability to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges, leading to complete system compromise. The vulnerability affects both automotive and consumer-grade devices, meaning that malicious actors could target vehicles, industrial control systems, or consumer electronics. The widespread adoption of affected chipsets across different product lines increases the potential attack surface significantly. System stability could be compromised through memory corruption leading to denial of service conditions, while the potential for code execution creates opportunities for more sophisticated attacks including privilege escalation and persistent backdoor installation.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate firmware updates from device manufacturers and implementing network segmentation to limit exposure to potentially malicious WLAN firmware communications. Organizations should also consider deploying intrusion detection systems that can monitor for anomalous WMI event patterns and implement strict access controls for WLAN firmware interfaces. The vulnerability requires patching at the firmware level, as the issue exists within the low-level system components that handle WMI event processing. Security teams should monitor for exploitation attempts and implement behavioral analysis to detect potential exploitation attempts targeting this specific memory corruption vulnerability. Given the hardware-level nature of the vulnerability, complete remediation requires coordinated updates from chipset manufacturers and device vendors, with particular attention to automotive and industrial deployments where system reliability is paramount.