CVE-2019-2250 in Snapdragon Auto
Summary
by MITRE
Kernel can write to arbitrary memory address passed by user while freeing/stopping a thread in Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile in QCS605, SD 675, SD 712 / SD 710 / SD 670, SD 835, SD 845 / SD 850, SD 855, SD 8CX, SM7150, SXR1130
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/16/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-2250 represents a critical kernel-level flaw affecting multiple Qualcomm Snapdragon processor architectures including the QCS605, SD 675, SD 712, SD 710, SD 670, SD 835, SD 845, SD 850, SD 855, SD 8CX, SM7150, and SXR1130 platforms. This vulnerability resides within the kernel's thread management subsystem where the operating system can potentially write to arbitrary memory addresses controlled by user-space applications during thread freeing or stopping operations. The flaw stems from insufficient input validation and memory access controls within the kernel's thread termination mechanism, allowing malicious user processes to manipulate kernel memory structures through carefully crafted inputs. The vulnerability is particularly concerning as it affects Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, and Snapdragon Mobile platforms, representing a broad attack surface across various device categories including smartphones, tablets, automotive systems, and industrial IoT devices. This issue directly corresponds to CWE-787, which describes out-of-bounds write vulnerabilities, and can be categorized under the ATT&CK technique T1068 for Local Privilege Escalation. The exploitation of this vulnerability could enable attackers to execute arbitrary code with kernel-level privileges, potentially leading to complete system compromise.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs when the kernel processes thread termination requests from user-space applications. During the thread freeing or stopping sequence, the kernel fails to properly validate memory addresses provided by the user-space process, allowing the attacker to specify arbitrary memory locations that the kernel will subsequently write to during cleanup operations. This improper validation creates a write-what-where condition where malicious input can be used to overwrite critical kernel data structures, function pointers, or memory regions. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it operates at the kernel level where any memory corruption can lead to privilege escalation, system instability, or complete compromise of the device. The affected Snapdragon platforms share common kernel code paths that implement thread management functions, making this vulnerability persistent across multiple hardware generations and device types.
The operational impact of CVE-2019-2250 extends beyond simple privilege escalation to encompass potential system-wide compromise across millions of devices. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to gain root access on mobile devices, embedded systems, and IoT products, enabling them to install persistent backdoors, exfiltrate sensitive data, or manipulate device functionality. The vulnerability's presence in both consumer and industrial IoT platforms creates significant risk for critical infrastructure deployments where device security is paramount. Organizations using affected Snapdragon-based devices face potential exposure to advanced persistent threats that could target mobile banking applications, industrial control systems, automotive electronics, or any system where these processors are integrated. The exploitation of this vulnerability could result in data breaches, system manipulation, or denial of service conditions that could affect both individual users and enterprise deployments. Given the widespread adoption of Snapdragon processors in mobile devices and IoT systems, the potential attack surface for this vulnerability is extensive.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2019-2250 require both immediate patching and operational security measures. Qualcomm has released security updates addressing this vulnerability in their Snapdragon platform firmware, and device manufacturers should prioritize deploying these patches across affected devices. System administrators should implement monitoring for suspicious thread management activities and memory access patterns that could indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability's nature suggests that runtime protection mechanisms such as kernel address space layout randomization kASLR, stack canaries, and control flow integrity checks could help reduce exploitation success rates. Organizations should also consider implementing device isolation measures for systems running on affected Snapdragon platforms, particularly in critical infrastructure environments. Regular security assessments of embedded systems and IoT devices should include verification of patched firmware versions to ensure complete remediation of this vulnerability. Additionally, network monitoring solutions should be configured to detect anomalous behavior patterns that could indicate exploitation attempts targeting this specific kernel vulnerability.