CVE-2019-2254 in Snapdragon Auto
Summary
by MITRE
Position determination accuracy may be degraded due to wrongly decoded information in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon IoT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Voice & Music, Snapdragon Wearables in MDM9150, MDM9206, MDM9607, MDM9615, MDM9625, MDM9635M, MDM9640, MDM9650, MDM9655, MSM8909W, MSM8996AU, QCS605, Qualcomm 215, SD 210/SD 212/SD 205, SD 425, SD 427, SD 430, SD 435, SD 439 / SD 429, SD 450, SD 615/16/SD 415, SD 625, SD 632, SD 636, SD 650/52, SD 665, SD 675, SD 712 / SD 710 / SD 670, SD 730, SD 820, SD 820A, SD 835, SD 845 / SD 850, SD 855, SD 8CX, SDA660, SDM439, SDM630, SDM660, SDX20, Snapdragon_High_Med_2016, SXR1130
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/12/2020
This vulnerability represents a critical flaw in the positioning accuracy of various Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets that affects automotive, industrial, and consumer IoT applications. The issue stems from incorrect decoding of information within the global navigation satellite system processing components, specifically impacting the precise determination of device location through gnss receivers. The vulnerability affects a broad range of Qualcomm chipsets including the MDM9150, MDM9206, MDM9607, MDM9615, MDM9625, MDM9635M, MDM9640, MDM9650, MDM9655, MSM8909W, MSM8996AU, QCS605, Qualcomm 215, SD 210/SD 212/SD 205, SD 425, SD 427, SD 430, SD 435, SD 439 / SD 429, SD 450, SD 615/16/SD 415, SD 625, SD 632, SD 636, SD 650/52, SD 665, SD 675, SD 712 / SD 710 / SD 670, SD 730, SD 820, SD 820A, SD 835, SD 845 / SD 850, SD 855, SD 8CX, SDA660, SDM439, SDM630, SDM660, SDX20, Snapdragon_High_Med_2016, and SXR1130 platforms. The flaw manifests as degraded positioning accuracy which can have serious implications for navigation systems, location-based services, and geofencing applications that rely on precise satellite positioning data.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability involves improper handling of decoded satellite signal information within the chipset's gnss processing units, leading to incorrect position calculations. This misinterpretation occurs during the decoding phase of satellite signals where the hardware fails to properly process or interpret the incoming data from global navigation satellite systems such as gps, glonass, beidou, and galileo. The issue is classified under common weakness enumeration CWE-248, which addresses improper handling of exceptions, and can be mapped to attack technique T1059.001 in the ATT&CK framework related to command and scripting interpreter. The vulnerability affects the fundamental positioning capabilities of devices, potentially causing navigation errors that could range from minor inaccuracies to significant deviations in location determination.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends across multiple sectors including automotive navigation systems, industrial asset tracking, consumer location services, and wearable devices. In automotive applications, degraded positioning accuracy could compromise safety-critical systems such as autonomous driving navigation, emergency response services, and fleet management solutions. For industrial and IoT applications, the vulnerability affects asset tracking, precision agriculture, and geofencing capabilities where accurate location data is essential for operational efficiency. The vulnerability represents a significant risk to location-dependent services and could potentially enable attackers to manipulate positioning data, creating false location reports or compromising geofence boundaries. The widespread impact across multiple chipset generations indicates this is not a isolated incident but rather a systemic issue affecting numerous device categories and applications that rely on precise positioning data.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should include firmware updates from device manufacturers, which would address the decoding logic errors within the gnss processing units. Organizations should implement continuous monitoring of device firmware versions and ensure timely deployment of security patches. Additionally, system architects should consider implementing redundant positioning sources and validation mechanisms to detect and compensate for positioning inaccuracies. The vulnerability highlights the importance of secure boot processes and proper signal processing validation in embedded systems, particularly those handling critical positioning data. Device manufacturers should also consider implementing position validation algorithms that can detect anomalous positioning behavior and alert users or system administrators when accuracy degrades beyond acceptable thresholds. The remediation approach must account for the wide range of affected platforms, requiring coordinated patch management across multiple device categories and manufacturers.