CVE-2021-1932 in Snapdragon Auto
Summary
by MITRE • 10/20/2021
Improper access control in trusted application environment can cause unauthorized access to CDSP or ADSP VM memory with either privilege in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Wired Infrastructure and Networking
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/27/2021
This vulnerability represents a critical access control flaw within the trusted application environment of Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets, affecting a wide range of automotive, mobile, and IoT product lines. The issue stems from insufficient privilege validation mechanisms that allow unauthorized access to memory spaces belonging to the CDSP (Compute Domain Security Processor) and ADSP (Audio Domain Security Processor) virtual machines. The vulnerability exists in the hypervisor or secure monitoring layer that governs access to these specialized processing environments, creating a path for malicious actors to bypass normal security boundaries. This weakness enables attackers with appropriate privileges to escalate their access and potentially compromise sensitive data stored within these memory regions, which typically contain cryptographic keys, secure boot parameters, and other confidential information critical to device security.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves a failure in the memory management unit's privilege checking mechanisms, where the system does not properly validate the security context of incoming memory access requests. This flaw allows for privilege escalation attacks that can occur either through direct exploitation or by leveraging other vulnerabilities that provide initial access to the system. The affected Snapdragon product families include automotive systems, mobile devices, and industrial IoT solutions, making this a particularly concerning issue given the widespread deployment of these chipsets across multiple sectors. The vulnerability's impact is amplified by the fact that it affects multiple processor domains, meaning that exploitation could potentially compromise different aspects of device functionality depending on which domain is accessed.
The operational implications of this vulnerability are severe, as it could enable attackers to extract sensitive information from secure memory regions, potentially leading to complete system compromise. Attackers could leverage this access to modify secure boot processes, extract cryptographic keys, or gain persistence within the device's secure environment. The vulnerability's presence across multiple Snapdragon product lines means that organizations must consider the impact across their entire device portfolio, from automotive systems to mobile devices and industrial IoT deployments. This type of flaw directly impacts the integrity of the device's security architecture and could enable advanced persistent threats to establish long-term access to target systems. The vulnerability's classification aligns with CWE-284 which addresses improper access control, and it maps to ATT&CK techniques such as privilege escalation and credential access through exploitation of system vulnerabilities.
Mitigation strategies should focus on implementing robust access control mechanisms within the trusted application environment, including strengthening privilege validation procedures and enhancing memory protection boundaries. Organizations should deploy firmware updates provided by Qualcomm that address the specific access control gaps in the secure processing environments. System administrators should also consider implementing additional monitoring and detection mechanisms to identify unauthorized access attempts to secure memory regions. The vulnerability highlights the importance of maintaining secure hypervisor implementations and proper isolation between different processing domains within mobile and automotive chipsets. Regular security assessments of trusted application environments are essential to identify similar access control weaknesses that could be exploited by adversaries. Additionally, organizations should ensure that their security monitoring systems are capable of detecting anomalous access patterns to memory regions that could indicate exploitation attempts. The remediation process should include verification that all affected Snapdragon chipsets receive appropriate security patches and that system configurations properly enforce the intended security boundaries between different processing domains.