CVE-2021-0982 in Android
Summary
by MITRE • 12/15/2021
In getOrganizationNameForUser of DevicePolicyManagerService.java, there is a possible organization name disclosure due to a missing permission check. This could lead to local information disclosure with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android-12Android ID: A-192368508
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/18/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2021-0982 resides within the Android operating system's DevicePolicyManagerService component, specifically in the getOrganizationNameForUser method of the DevicePolicyManagerService.java file. This flaw represents a critical information disclosure vulnerability that compromises the privacy and security of device users. The issue stems from a missing permission check that should validate whether an application has proper authorization to access sensitive organizational information. The vulnerability affects Android 12 systems and is tracked under Android ID A-192368508, indicating its severity and the need for immediate attention from device manufacturers and security professionals.
The technical implementation flaw occurs when the getOrganizationNameForUser method fails to perform adequate permission validation before returning organizational name information. This method is designed to retrieve organization names associated with user accounts, but the absence of proper access controls allows unauthorized applications to obtain this sensitive data without requiring any additional privileges or execution capabilities. The vulnerability operates at the system level within the device policy management framework, where it should enforce strict access controls between different applications and system services. According to CWE classification, this represents a CWE-284: Improper Access Control vulnerability, where insufficient permissions lead to unauthorized information disclosure.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it could enable attackers to gather sensitive organizational data that might be used for social engineering attacks, credential harvesting, or further exploitation of the device. An attacker could potentially use this information to craft more convincing phishing attempts or to understand the organizational structure of the device user, which could facilitate targeted attacks. The lack of requirement for user interaction makes this vulnerability particularly dangerous as it can be exploited silently in the background without any visible indication to the user. This aligns with ATT&CK technique T1082: System Information Discovery, where adversaries gather information about the system environment to plan further attacks.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2021-0982 should prioritize immediate patch deployment through official Android security updates, as the vulnerability affects the core device policy management functionality. Organizations should implement application whitelisting policies to restrict which applications can access device policy services, and security teams should monitor for suspicious network activity or unauthorized access patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. Device administrators should also consider implementing additional security layers such as application sandboxing and privilege escalation controls to limit the potential damage from such information disclosure vulnerabilities. The fix should involve implementing proper permission checks within the DevicePolicyManagerService to ensure that only authorized applications with appropriate system-level permissions can access the organization name information, thereby preventing unauthorized disclosure while maintaining legitimate functionality for authorized applications.