CVE-2020-9141 in Huawei
Summary
by MITRE • 01/14/2021
There is a improper privilege management vulnerability in some Huawei smartphone. Successful exploitation of this vulnerability can cause information disclosure and malfunctions due to insufficient verification of data authenticity.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/13/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-9141 represents a critical improper privilege management flaw affecting certain Huawei smartphone models. This weakness resides in the device's security architecture where inadequate verification mechanisms fail to properly authenticate data integrity, creating a pathway for malicious actors to exploit the system's trust model. The vulnerability manifests within the smartphone's operating environment where legitimate system processes may be deceived into processing unauthorized or corrupted data without sufficient validation checks. Such a flaw fundamentally undermines the device's ability to maintain proper access controls and data integrity assurances that are essential for mobile platform security.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient data authenticity verification mechanisms within Huawei's mobile security framework. When the system processes incoming data streams or executes privileged operations, it fails to perform comprehensive validation checks that would normally confirm the legitimacy and integrity of the information being handled. This weakness creates an attack surface where adversaries can potentially manipulate system behavior through crafted inputs or by exploiting the system's trust relationships. The flaw operates at the intersection of privilege escalation and data validation, where the absence of proper verification allows malicious data to be processed with elevated privileges, potentially leading to unauthorized system access or data manipulation.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability exposes Huawei smartphones to significant security risks including unauthorized information disclosure and system malfunctions. Attackers exploiting this weakness could potentially access sensitive user data, system configuration information, or confidential communications stored on or processed by the affected devices. The malfunctions resulting from insufficient data authenticity verification could manifest as system instability, unexpected application behavior, or complete system crashes that disrupt normal device operation. These impacts extend beyond individual user privacy concerns to potentially compromise enterprise security environments where Huawei devices may be used for business-critical operations. The vulnerability's presence in mobile platforms particularly concerning given the sensitive nature of personal and corporate data typically stored on smartphones.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2020-9141 should prioritize immediate firmware updates from Huawei as the primary remediation approach, addressing the underlying privilege management implementation flaws. Organizations should implement network monitoring solutions to detect anomalous data processing patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts, while also conducting comprehensive security assessments of affected devices. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-250 Improper Privilege Management, which specifically addresses situations where systems fail to properly enforce access controls and privilege boundaries. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this weakness maps to techniques involving privilege escalation and credential access, where adversaries leverage insufficient validation mechanisms to gain elevated system privileges. Security teams should also consider implementing mobile device management policies that enforce secure configuration settings and regularly monitor for indicators of compromise that might suggest exploitation attempts against vulnerable Huawei devices.