CVE-2019-9407 in Android
Summary
by MITRE
In notification management of the service manager, there is a possible permissions bypass. This could lead to local escalation of privilege by preventing user notification, with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Product: AndroidVersions: Android-10Android ID: A-112434609
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/13/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-9407 resides within the notification management system of Android's service manager component, representing a critical permission bypass flaw that enables local privilege escalation. This vulnerability specifically affects Android 10 and is tracked under Android ID A-112434609, demonstrating the severity and widespread impact of such issues within the Android ecosystem. The flaw operates through a design weakness in how the service manager handles notification permissions, creating an exploitable gap that allows malicious actors to circumvent normal access controls.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from improper permission validation within the notification management subsystem, where the service manager fails to adequately verify user permissions before processing notification-related operations. This creates a scenario where an attacker can manipulate notification delivery mechanisms to bypass normal user access controls, effectively enabling unauthorized privilege escalation without requiring additional execution privileges or user interaction. The vulnerability operates at the system level within Android's service management framework, leveraging the inherent trust relationships between system components to execute malicious actions.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability represents a significant security risk as it allows for local privilege escalation without user interaction, meaning that any malicious application with basic access to the device can exploit this flaw to gain elevated privileges. The implications extend beyond simple notification manipulation, as successful exploitation could enable attackers to access sensitive system resources, modify critical system files, or escalate their privileges to system-level access. This type of vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it operates silently in the background without requiring any user engagement, making detection and prevention more challenging for security monitoring systems.
The exploitation of this vulnerability aligns with several ATT&CK framework techniques including privilege escalation and persistence mechanisms, while also relating to CWE-284 which addresses improper access control. The lack of user interaction requirement makes this vulnerability particularly attractive to threat actors seeking to establish persistent access to devices without detection. Organizations and users should consider this vulnerability as part of their broader security posture assessment, particularly in environments where Android devices are used for sensitive operations or contain critical data. Mitigation strategies should include immediate patch deployment, implementation of mobile device management solutions, and regular security audits of Android device configurations to prevent exploitation of such permission bypass vulnerabilities.
Security professionals should note that this vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper access control implementation in system-level components, particularly those handling notification and service management functions. The absence of user interaction requirements means that exploitation can occur automatically when devices are in use, making this a particularly concerning flaw for enterprise security teams managing large fleets of Android devices. The vulnerability underscores the need for comprehensive security testing of system services and proper validation of permission models to prevent unauthorized privilege escalation pathways.