CVE-2019-20579 in Samsung
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered on Samsung mobile devices with N(7.x), O(8.x), and P(9.0) software. Gallery allows attackers to enable Location information sharing from the lock screen. The Samsung ID is SVE-2019-14462 (August 2019).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/04/2020
This vulnerability exists in Samsung mobile devices running Android versions 7.x, 8.x, and 9.0, specifically affecting the Gallery application's handling of location information sharing capabilities. The flaw allows attackers to manipulate the lock screen settings to enable location data sharing, creating an unauthorized access vector for geolocation information. This represents a significant privacy and security concern as it bypasses normal device security controls and user consent mechanisms that should protect location data.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient access controls and permission validation within the Gallery application's lock screen interface. Attackers can exploit this weakness to modify system settings that govern location sharing, effectively enabling location services without proper authorization. This issue falls under the CWE category of insufficient access control, specifically CWE-284, which addresses improper access control mechanisms that allow unauthorized access to system resources. The vulnerability demonstrates a failure in the principle of least privilege, where the Gallery application should not have the capability to modify critical system location sharing settings.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privacy concerns to encompass potential security risks for users and their data. When location information sharing is enabled from the lock screen, it creates an attack surface that adversaries can leverage to track user movements, monitor location-based activities, and potentially correlate this information with other data points for more sophisticated attacks. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566 which involves social engineering tactics that can be used to gain unauthorized access to device capabilities. The implications are particularly severe for users who may be targeted by location-based threats or who store sensitive information at specific locations.
Samsung addressed this issue through software updates that strengthened access controls for location sharing settings and implemented proper validation of user permissions before allowing modifications to critical system configurations. The fix involved enhancing the Gallery application's permission model to ensure that only authorized applications and users can modify location sharing capabilities from the lock screen interface. Organizations and users should prioritize applying the relevant security patches provided by Samsung to mitigate this vulnerability and restore proper device security controls. The vulnerability highlights the importance of comprehensive security testing for mobile applications, particularly those that interface with system-level privacy controls and user data access mechanisms.