CVE-2021-1889 in Snapdragon Auto
Summary
by MITRE • 07/13/2021
Possible buffer overflow due to lack of length check in Trusted Application in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon IoT, Snapdragon Voice & Music, Snapdragon Wearables
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/16/2021
This vulnerability represents a critical buffer overflow condition within the trusted application framework of multiple Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets spanning automotive, industrial, and consumer IoT domains. The flaw stems from insufficient input validation mechanisms that fail to properly check buffer lengths before processing data, creating potential execution paths where malicious inputs can overwrite adjacent memory regions. The affected Trusted Application component operates within the secure execution environment of these processors, making the vulnerability particularly concerning for systems requiring high security assurances. According to CWE-121, this manifests as a classic stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability where inadequate bounds checking allows attackers to manipulate memory layout and potentially execute arbitrary code within the trusted execution environment.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends across numerous Qualcomm Snapdragon product lines including automotive systems, industrial IoT deployments, and consumer wearable devices, indicating a widespread attack surface that could affect vehicles, industrial control systems, and connected consumer electronics. Attackers exploiting this weakness could potentially gain unauthorized access to sensitive system functions, manipulate secure boot processes, or compromise the integrity of cryptographic operations that depend on the Trusted Application's secure execution environment. The vulnerability's presence in multiple chipset families suggests that exploitation techniques may be broadly applicable across different device types, making it a particularly attractive target for threat actors seeking to establish persistent access points within critical infrastructure. This aligns with ATT&CK technique T1547.001 for establishing persistence and T1059.001 for command execution within secure contexts.
Mitigation strategies must address both immediate patching requirements and longer-term architectural improvements to prevent similar vulnerabilities in future implementations. Organizations should prioritize firmware updates from device manufacturers to address the root cause, while implementing network segmentation to limit potential attack vectors. The vulnerability highlights the importance of robust input validation mechanisms and proper buffer management practices in secure application development. Security teams should monitor for exploitation attempts through anomaly detection systems that can identify unusual memory access patterns or unauthorized code execution within trusted execution environments. Additionally, implementing runtime protection mechanisms such as stack canaries, address space layout randomization, and code integrity checks can provide additional defense layers against exploitation attempts. The affected systems require comprehensive security audits to identify other potential buffer overflow vulnerabilities within the Trusted Application framework and related secure execution components.