CVE-2019-9599 in AirDroid
Summary
by MITRE
The AirDroid application through 4.2.1.6 for Android allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (service crash) via many simultaneous sdctl/comm/lite_auth/ requests.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/06/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-9599 represents a denial of service weakness within the AirDroid mobile application ecosystem, specifically affecting versions up to 4.2.1.6 on Android platforms. This issue manifests through the application's handling of multiple concurrent requests to the sdctl/comm/lite_auth endpoint, which serves as a critical communication interface for device authentication and management functions. The flaw demonstrates a classic resource exhaustion pattern where the application fails to properly manage concurrent connection requests, leading to service instability and potential complete application shutdown.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate request handling mechanisms within the AirDroid application's backend services. When numerous simultaneous requests are made to the sdctl/comm/lite_auth endpoint, the application's thread management or connection pooling mechanisms become overwhelmed, resulting in unhandled exceptions or resource allocation failures. This behavior aligns with CWE-400, which categorizes unchecked resource allocation as a fundamental weakness in software design. The vulnerability specifically impacts the application's ability to maintain stable communication channels with connected devices, effectively creating a condition where legitimate users cannot access the application's core functionality.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risks to both individual users and enterprise environments that rely on AirDroid for device management and file transfer operations. The denial of service condition can be exploited by remote attackers who simply need to send multiple concurrent requests to the affected endpoint, making the attack surface relatively accessible and low-cost to execute. The impact extends beyond simple service disruption as it can compromise the integrity of device management workflows, potentially affecting productivity in enterprise settings where AirDroid is used for managing multiple devices. This vulnerability also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004, which covers network denial of service attacks, and demonstrates how application-level weaknesses can be leveraged to create system-wide availability issues.
The mitigation strategies for CVE-2019-9599 should focus on implementing proper request rate limiting and connection management within the AirDroid application. Developers should introduce robust queuing mechanisms and implement connection throttling to prevent resource exhaustion under high concurrent load conditions. Additionally, proper exception handling and resource cleanup procedures must be implemented to ensure that individual request failures do not cascade into complete application crashes. Security measures should include monitoring for unusual request patterns and implementing automated alerts when threshold limits are exceeded. Organizations should also consider deploying network-level protections such as firewalls or intrusion detection systems that can identify and block suspicious request patterns targeting the vulnerable endpoint. The fix should address the underlying architectural flaw by implementing proper resource management practices that align with industry best practices for maintaining application stability under stress conditions, ensuring that the application can gracefully handle legitimate high-concurrency scenarios while remaining resistant to malicious exploitation attempts.