CVE-2021-22347 in Huawei
Summary
by MITRE • 07/01/2021
There is an Improper Access Control vulnerability in Huawei Smartphone. Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may cause temporary DoS.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/09/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2021-22347 represents a critical improper access control flaw within Huawei smartphone implementations that could potentially lead to temporary denial of service conditions. This weakness resides in the device's security architecture and demonstrates a failure in proper privilege enforcement mechanisms that should prevent unauthorized access to system resources. The vulnerability affects Huawei smartphone models and indicates a fundamental breakdown in the device's access control policies that could be exploited by malicious actors.
The technical flaw manifests as an insufficient validation of access permissions within the smartphone's operating system or firmware components. This improper access control allows unauthorized entities to potentially manipulate system resources or services that should remain protected from unauthorized access. The vulnerability's classification as improper access control aligns with CWE-284 which specifically addresses inadequate access control implementations. Attackers could exploit this weakness to gain unauthorized access to protected system functions or data, potentially leading to service disruption or system instability.
From an operational impact perspective, successful exploitation of this vulnerability could result in temporary denial of service conditions that would affect normal smartphone functionality. Users might experience disruptions to critical services, application crashes, or complete system unresponsiveness during the period of exploitation. The temporary nature of the DoS condition suggests that while the system may recover automatically, the vulnerability creates a window of opportunity for attackers to disrupt user experience and potentially gain further access to sensitive device functions. This type of vulnerability directly impacts the device's reliability and security posture as outlined in the NIST Cybersecurity Framework.
The attack surface for this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially enable more sophisticated exploitation techniques that could leverage the initial access to perform additional malicious activities. Security professionals should consider this vulnerability in the context of the MITRE ATT&CK framework, particularly focusing on privilege escalation and denial of service tactics that could be employed by threat actors. The vulnerability's impact on smartphone security highlights the importance of robust access control mechanisms in mobile device architectures and the necessity for comprehensive security testing throughout the device development lifecycle. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including firmware updates, access control policy reviews, and enhanced monitoring of suspicious system access patterns to protect against exploitation attempts.
Mitigation strategies should prioritize the deployment of official firmware updates provided by Huawei to address the underlying access control implementation flaws. Security teams should also implement network monitoring solutions to detect anomalous access patterns that could indicate exploitation attempts. Regular security assessments of mobile device configurations and access controls should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of proper access control implementation in mobile operating systems and the need for continuous security validation of device firmware components to prevent unauthorized access and maintain system integrity.