CVE-2021-1970 in Snapdragon Auto
Summary
by MITRE • 07/13/2021
Possible out of bound read due to lack of length check of FT sub-elements in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Voice & Music
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/16/2021
This vulnerability represents a critical out-of-bounds read condition affecting multiple Snapdragon product lines including automotive, compute, connectivity, consumer IOT, industrial IOT, mobile, and voice/music devices. The flaw stems from insufficient validation of length parameters during processing of Font Table (FT) sub-elements within the affected Qualcomm chipsets. When the system processes font data structures, it fails to properly verify the boundaries of sub-elements before accessing memory regions, creating opportunities for unauthorized memory access patterns that could lead to system instability or potential exploitation.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs at the font parsing layer where the software assumes valid length fields without proper validation checks. This type of flaw falls under CWE-129 Input Validation and Output Encoding, specifically manifesting as an improper input length validation issue. The absence of bounds checking during font table processing creates a scenario where maliciously crafted font data could cause the processor to read memory locations beyond the intended buffer boundaries, potentially exposing sensitive system information or allowing arbitrary code execution.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to devices running affected Snapdragon chipsets, particularly in automotive systems where reliability is paramount. The impact extends across multiple device categories including smartphones, automotive infotainment systems, industrial IoT devices, and consumer electronics. Attackers could potentially exploit this weakness by delivering malformed font files through various attack vectors such as email attachments, web content, or file transfers, leading to denial of service conditions or more severe consequences depending on the execution environment and privilege levels available.
The vulnerability's exploitation potential aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter, as attackers could leverage this memory corruption to execute malicious code within the font processing context. Additionally, it relates to T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution when the vulnerability is triggered through compromised font files in applications that render text. The affected product lines suggest this represents a widespread issue across Qualcomm's ecosystem, indicating that mitigation strategies would require coordinated updates across multiple device categories and software platforms. Organizations should prioritize patch management and implement network segmentation to limit potential attack surfaces while monitoring for suspicious font-related activities that could indicate exploitation attempts.
Mitigation strategies should include immediate deployment of Qualcomm security patches addressing the font parsing validation issues, implementation of input validation controls for all font processing components, and network monitoring for unusual font file access patterns. System administrators should also consider disabling font rendering for untrusted sources and implementing application whitelisting to prevent execution of potentially malicious font processing code. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper bounds checking in multimedia processing components and underscores the need for comprehensive security testing of font handling libraries across all device types.