CVE-2019-9601 in ApowerManager App
Summary
by MITRE
The ApowerManager application through 3.1.7 for Android allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via many simultaneous /?Key=PhoneRequestAuthorization requests.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/06/2024
The CVE-2019-9601 vulnerability affects ApowerManager version 3.1.7 and earlier on Android platforms, representing a significant denial of service weakness that can be exploited remotely by attackers. This vulnerability stems from the application's insufficient handling of concurrent requests, specifically targeting the /?Key=PhoneRequestAuthorization endpoint which serves as a critical communication interface within the application's architecture. The flaw enables malicious actors to overwhelm the system by flooding it with numerous simultaneous authorization requests, effectively exhausting available resources and rendering the application unusable.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability demonstrates a classic resource exhaustion attack pattern where the application fails to implement proper rate limiting or connection management mechanisms. When multiple concurrent /?Key=PhoneRequestAuthorization requests are processed simultaneously, the system's thread pool or connection handlers become overwhelmed, leading to application instability and eventual crash conditions. This behavior aligns with CWE-400, which categorizes unchecked resource consumption as a fundamental weakness in software design. The vulnerability operates at the application layer, making it particularly dangerous as it requires no special privileges or device access to exploit, relying solely on network-based attacks that can be executed from anywhere on the internet.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption, as it can severely compromise the usability of devices managed through ApowerManager, which is commonly used for remote device management, screen sharing, and mobile application control. Attackers can leverage this weakness to target not only individual devices but potentially entire fleets of managed devices in enterprise environments, causing widespread operational disruption. The attack vector is particularly concerning because it does not require any form of authentication or physical access to the target device, making it accessible to any remote attacker with network connectivity. This vulnerability directly maps to ATT&CK technique T1499.004, which describes denial of service through resource exhaustion, and represents a significant risk to organizations relying on remote management solutions for their mobile device infrastructure.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2019-9601 should focus on implementing robust rate limiting mechanisms at the application level, establishing proper connection handling protocols, and deploying network-level firewalls to monitor and restrict excessive traffic patterns. Organizations should immediately update to ApowerManager version 3.1.8 or later, which contains patches addressing the resource exhaustion vulnerability. Additionally, system administrators should implement monitoring solutions to detect unusual traffic patterns and establish automated alerting mechanisms for potential denial of service attacks. The implementation of proper input validation and connection timeout mechanisms would prevent the exploitation of this vulnerability by ensuring that the application can gracefully handle high volumes of concurrent requests without crashing or becoming unresponsive. Security teams should also consider deploying network segmentation strategies to limit the impact of such attacks and establish incident response procedures specifically tailored to address resource exhaustion attacks targeting remote management applications.