CVE-2019-9429 in Android
Summary
by MITRE
In profman, there is a possible out of bounds write due to memory corruption. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Product: AndroidVersions: Android-10Android ID: A-110035108
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/13/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-9429 resides within the profman component of Android systems, representing a critical memory corruption flaw that manifests as an out-of-bounds write condition. This issue specifically affects Android 10 operating systems and is catalogued under Android ID A-110035108. The profman service, which handles profile management operations, contains a memory handling error that can be exploited to overwrite adjacent memory locations beyond the allocated buffer boundaries. Such memory corruption vulnerabilities typically arise from inadequate bounds checking during array or buffer operations, where the application fails to validate input data against predefined memory limits before writing operations occur.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability enables local privilege escalation without requiring any additional execution privileges or user interaction for successful exploitation. This characteristic places the flaw in the category of local escalation of privilege vulnerabilities, where an attacker with existing user-level access can leverage the memory corruption to gain elevated system privileges. The absence of user interaction requirements makes this vulnerability particularly concerning as it can be exploited automatically without any human intervention. The out-of-bounds write condition allows an attacker to overwrite critical memory locations including function pointers, return addresses, or other control data structures that govern program execution flow. This type of vulnerability falls under CWE-787: "Out-of-bounds Write" and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1068: "Exploitation for Privilege Escalation" within the privilege escalation category.
The operational impact of CVE-2019-9429 extends beyond simple local privilege escalation to potentially enable full system compromise. Once an attacker achieves elevated privileges through this vulnerability, they can access sensitive system resources, modify critical system files, install malicious applications, or establish persistent backdoors. The vulnerability's location within profman suggests potential access to user profile management functions, which could allow attackers to manipulate user account configurations or access personal data. Given that this affects Android 10 systems, the vulnerability impacts a significant portion of mobile devices that were released during the 2019 timeframe, making it a widespread concern for both individual users and enterprise environments. The exploitation mechanism leverages the inherent trust placed in system services and demonstrates how seemingly minor memory handling flaws can result in catastrophic security implications, particularly when they occur in core system components responsible for user profile management and system configuration.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should include immediate deployment of security patches provided by Google through the Android Security Bulletin, which typically address the underlying memory corruption through proper bounds checking and input validation. Organizations should implement comprehensive patch management procedures to ensure timely application of security updates across all affected devices. Additionally, system administrators should consider implementing runtime protections such as address space layout randomization and stack canaries to make exploitation more difficult. The vulnerability highlights the importance of rigorous code review processes and static analysis tools to identify potential memory corruption issues before they can be exploited in production environments. Network segmentation and least privilege principles should also be employed to limit potential damage even if exploitation occurs, while monitoring systems should be configured to detect anomalous privilege escalation attempts that might indicate exploitation of this or similar vulnerabilities.