CVE-2021-1950 in Snapdragon Auto
Summary
by MITRE • 04/01/2022
Improper cleaning of secure memory between authenticated users can lead to face authentication bypass in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Connectivity, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Wired Infrastructure and Networking
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/05/2022
This vulnerability resides in the secure memory management mechanisms of Qualcomm's Snapdragon chipsets, specifically affecting automotive, mobile, and industrial IoT deployments. The flaw manifests when the system fails to properly sanitize memory regions containing authentication credentials or biometric data between user sessions. This improper memory cleaning creates a persistent data leak that can be exploited by malicious actors to bypass face authentication mechanisms. The vulnerability impacts a broad range of Qualcomm's product portfolio including automotive systems, mobile devices, and industrial networking equipment, making it particularly concerning for enterprise security infrastructure.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate memory deallocation procedures within the authentication subsystem. When users authenticate successfully, sensitive biometric templates and credential data are stored in secure memory areas. However, the system does not properly overwrite or clear these memory segments when transitioning between authenticated sessions, leaving residual data accessible to subsequent users or malicious processes. This memory contamination directly violates security principles outlined in cwe-244 and cwe-1286, which address improper handling of sensitive data in memory. The vulnerability operates at the kernel level within Qualcomm's secure execution environments, making it particularly difficult to detect and remediate.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends across multiple security domains including automotive cybersecurity, mobile device security, and industrial IoT protection. Attackers can exploit this weakness to gain unauthorized access to systems protected by facial recognition authentication, potentially leading to vehicle hijacking in automotive applications, unauthorized device access in mobile deployments, or compromised industrial control systems. The attack surface is significantly broadened given that multiple product lines share the same vulnerable memory management patterns. This vulnerability directly maps to attack techniques described in the attack tree framework under cwe-244 and can enable privilege escalation attacks that bypass authentication mechanisms entirely.
Mitigation strategies should focus on implementing proper memory sanitization protocols at the kernel level and ensuring that all authentication-related data is completely overwritten before memory reuse. System administrators should prioritize firmware updates from Qualcomm and implement additional security controls such as memory integrity checking and access monitoring. Organizations should also consider deploying network segmentation and additional authentication layers to reduce the impact of potential exploitation. The vulnerability highlights the importance of secure coding practices around memory management and proper data sanitization as outlined in the secure coding guidelines from the software engineering institute. Regular security assessments of embedded systems and continuous monitoring of authentication processes are essential for detecting potential exploitation attempts.