CVE-2019-10596 in Snapdragon Auto
Summary
by MITRE
u'Improper access control can lead signed process to guess pid of other processes and access their address space' in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Wired Infrastructure and Networking in Bitra, Nicobar, QCS605, QCS610, Rennell, SA6155P, Saipan, SC7180, SC8180X, SDM670, SDM710, SDM845, SDM850, SM6150, SM7150, SM8150, SM8250, SXR1130, SXR2130
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/12/2020
This vulnerability represents a critical improper access control flaw that affects multiple Qualcomm Snapdragon product lines across automotive, mobile, and IoT domains. The issue stems from insufficient process isolation mechanisms that allow a signed process to potentially guess the process identifier of other running processes and subsequently access their memory address spaces. This fundamental breakdown in access control violates core security principles and creates significant attack surface opportunities for malicious actors. The vulnerability impacts a wide range of hardware platforms including the QCS605, QCS610, SDM670, SDM845, and numerous other processors that form the backbone of modern mobile devices and automotive systems.
The technical implementation of this flaw involves the exploitation of predictable process identification mechanisms within the operating system kernel or hypervisor layer. When a signed process executes with sufficient privileges, it can leverage information disclosure vulnerabilities or weak entropy sources to enumerate valid process identifiers and then utilize kernel-level memory management functions to access the address space of target processes. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-284 access control weakness category, specifically representing improper access control due to insufficient process isolation. The attack vector typically involves a process with elevated privileges attempting to traverse the process table and access memory regions belonging to other processes without proper authorization checks.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends across multiple security domains including mobile device security, automotive systems, and industrial IoT deployments. In automotive applications, this could enable attackers to access sensitive vehicle control systems or personal data stored in other processes. Mobile device users face risks of credential theft, data exfiltration, and potential system compromise through unauthorized memory access. The vulnerability affects systems that rely on signed process execution models, where the assumption is that processes with valid signatures cannot access each other's memory spaces. This creates a dangerous trust model breach that undermines the fundamental security boundaries designed to protect system integrity and user privacy.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on strengthening process isolation mechanisms and implementing proper access control checks at the kernel level. System administrators and device manufacturers should ensure that all affected Snapdragon platforms receive timely firmware updates that address the process identification prediction weaknesses. The implementation of proper entropy sources for process identifier generation, combined with mandatory access controls and memory protection mechanisms, can significantly reduce the attack surface. Security professionals should also consider implementing runtime monitoring to detect suspicious memory access patterns and ensure that signed processes cannot enumerate or access other process memory spaces without explicit authorization. Organizations deploying affected hardware should conduct thorough security assessments and implement network segmentation to limit the potential impact of such vulnerabilities. This vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of maintaining robust access control mechanisms in embedded systems and highlights the need for comprehensive security testing across all system components, particularly those involved in process management and memory allocation.