CVE-2021-22346 in Huawei
Summary
by MITRE • 07/01/2021
There is an Improper Permission Management Vulnerability in Huawei Smartphone. Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may lead to the disclosure of user habits.
Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/04/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2021-22346 represents a critical improper permission management flaw within Huawei smartphone devices that exposes user privacy and behavioral data. This weakness resides in the operating system's permission handling mechanisms, where applications or system components fail to properly enforce access controls and authorization checks. The vulnerability stems from inadequate validation of permission requests and insufficient enforcement of security boundaries that should normally separate different application contexts and user data domains. Security researchers have identified that this flaw allows unauthorized access to sensitive user information through improper privilege escalation or privilege delegation mechanisms.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability manifests through weaknesses in the Android-based operating system framework where permission management policies are not properly enforced. Attackers can exploit this issue by crafting malicious applications or leveraging existing system-level processes that bypass normal permission checks. The flaw typically occurs when applications attempt to access user habit data, behavioral patterns, or personal information without proper authorization. This vulnerability operates at the system level where the kernel or core framework components fail to validate whether requesting entities have legitimate access rights to specific user data categories. The issue falls under CWE-284 which specifically addresses improper access control and improper privilege management within software systems.
The operational impact of CVE-2021-22346 extends beyond simple data disclosure to encompass comprehensive user behavior tracking and privacy compromise. Successful exploitation enables attackers to gather detailed information about user daily routines, application usage patterns, location data, and interaction behaviors that collectively form a comprehensive profile of individual user habits. This information can be leveraged for targeted advertising, identity theft, or more sophisticated social engineering attacks. The vulnerability creates a persistent backdoor that can remain active even after device reboots, allowing continuous monitoring of user activities. Organizations and individuals may experience significant reputational damage and regulatory compliance issues when such privacy violations occur, particularly in environments where data protection regulations like gdpr or ccpa apply.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate patch deployment from Huawei and device manufacturers to address the underlying permission management flaws. System administrators should implement comprehensive monitoring of application permissions and conduct regular audits of access controls. The recommended approach involves updating to the latest security patches that correct the improper permission handling mechanisms and strengthen access control enforcement. Additional protective measures include enabling application sandboxing, implementing stricter permission policies, and conducting regular security assessments of mobile applications. Organizations should also consider deploying mobile device management solutions that can monitor and control application behavior to prevent unauthorized data access. The mitigation process aligns with ATT&CK framework tactics related to privilege escalation and credential access, requiring both preventive measures and ongoing monitoring to ensure complete remediation of the vulnerability.