CVE-2019-14072 in Snapdragon Auto
Summary
by MITRE
Unhandled paging request is observed due to dereferencing an already freed object because of race condition between sparse free and sparse bind ioctls which access the same physical entry in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon IoT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Voice & Music, Snapdragon Wearables in APQ8009, APQ8096AU, APQ8098, MDM9607, MSM8909W, MSM8939, MSM8953, MSM8996AU, Nicobar, QCS405, QCS605, Rennell, SA6155P, Saipan, SC8180X, SDA660, SDA845, SDM429, SDM429W, SDM450, SDM632, SDM670, SDM710, SDM845, SDX24, SDX55, SM6150, SM7150, SM8150, SM8250, SXR1130, SXR2130
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/06/2020
This vulnerability represents a critical race condition affecting multiple Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets across various product lines including automotive, mobile, and IoT devices. The flaw occurs when sparse free and sparse bind ioctls simultaneously access the same physical memory entry, creating a scenario where an object is freed while still being referenced. This unhandled paging request results from improper synchronization between memory management operations, allowing for potential arbitrary code execution or system instability. The vulnerability impacts a broad range of hardware platforms including APQ8009, APQ8096AU, APQ8098, and numerous other Snapdragon variants, making it particularly concerning for widespread device populations. The root cause lies in the improper handling of memory deallocation and subsequent object dereferencing, which creates a window where freed memory can be accessed before proper cleanup occurs.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves a classic race condition scenario where two concurrent operations target the same memory resource. When the sparse free ioctl processes a memory region, it marks the corresponding physical entry as available for reuse, while the sparse bind ioctl simultaneously attempts to access that same physical entry. This concurrent access pattern creates a timing window where the object reference becomes invalid while still being accessed, leading to the dereferencing of already freed memory. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it operates at the kernel level within the Android operating system framework, where such memory corruption can escalate to full system compromise. According to CWE-362, this represents a race condition vulnerability that allows for concurrent access to shared resources without proper synchronization mechanisms, directly enabling the conditions for memory corruption.
The operational impact of CVE-2019-14072 extends beyond simple system instability to potentially enable remote code execution and privilege escalation. Attackers could exploit this vulnerability by crafting malicious sparse file operations that trigger the race condition, potentially gaining unauthorized access to system resources or executing arbitrary code with kernel privileges. The widespread deployment of affected Snapdragon chipsets across automotive systems, mobile devices, and IoT products creates an extensive attack surface. This vulnerability affects devices running various Android versions and Qualcomm's proprietary software stacks, making it particularly challenging to remediate across the entire ecosystem. The exploitation potential aligns with ATT&CK technique T1068, which involves local privilege escalation through kernel vulnerabilities, and T1059, covering command and scripting interpreter usage for exploitation.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require both immediate patching and long-term architectural improvements to memory management systems. Qualcomm has released security updates addressing the race condition through enhanced synchronization primitives and proper object lifecycle management. Organizations should implement immediate firmware updates across all affected devices, particularly automotive systems where safety-critical operations depend on reliable memory management. The recommended approach includes deploying kernel-level patches that enforce proper locking mechanisms between sparse file operations and implementing additional validation checks for memory access patterns. System administrators should also consider monitoring for anomalous sparse file operations that might indicate exploitation attempts. The fix typically involves ensuring that memory deallocation and subsequent access operations are properly synchronized using mutex locks or other concurrency control mechanisms, preventing the scenario where freed memory objects can be dereferenced before proper cleanup occurs. Given the nature of the vulnerability, regular security assessments of memory management subsystems should be conducted to identify similar race conditions that might exist in other kernel components.