CVE-2021-33669 in Mobile SDK Certificate Provider
Summary
by MITRE • 06/09/2021
Under certain conditions, SAP Mobile SDK Certificate Provider allows a local unprivileged attacker to exploit an insecure temporary file storage. For a successful exploitation user interaction from another user is required and could lead to complete impact of confidentiality integrity and availability.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/12/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2021-33669 resides within SAP Mobile SDK Certificate Provider, a component designed to manage digital certificates for mobile applications. This flaw represents a critical security weakness that stems from improper handling of temporary file storage mechanisms, creating an avenue for local privilege escalation attacks. The vulnerability specifically affects systems where the certificate provider component creates temporary files without adequate security controls, allowing unauthorized users to manipulate these files and potentially gain elevated system privileges.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability manifests through insecure temporary file creation practices that violate fundamental security principles. According to CWE-377, insecure temporary file handling represents a well-documented weakness where applications create temporary files with predictable names or insufficient access controls. The SAP Mobile SDK Certificate Provider fails to implement proper file permissions or randomized naming conventions for temporary certificate files, enabling local attackers to either overwrite existing files or create malicious files that will be processed by the legitimate certificate provider component. This insecure practice creates a race condition scenario where attacker-controlled files can be placed in temporary directories and subsequently executed with elevated privileges.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation to encompass complete compromise of system confidentiality, integrity, and availability as indicated by the CVSS scoring. A successful exploitation could enable an attacker to access sensitive certificate information, modify certificate trust stores, or even execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the certificate provider service. The requirement for user interaction suggests that while the attack vector is not fully automated, it represents a significant risk in environments where multiple users interact with the system. The attack typically requires an initial foothold through social engineering or another vector to establish a local presence, after which the attacker can leverage the insecure temporary file handling to escalate privileges.
From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to multiple techniques including T1059 for execution and T1068 for local privilege escalation. The attack chain begins with initial access and progresses through privilege escalation to achieve persistent control over the affected system. The certificate provider component represents a high-value target due to its role in managing cryptographic keys and certificates that are essential for secure communications. Organizations should consider implementing the principle of least privilege for certificate management services and ensuring proper file system permissions are enforced. Additionally, regular security assessments should include verification of temporary file handling practices across all applications, particularly those involved in cryptographic operations.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate remediation through SAP security patches and updates, while also implementing broader system hardening measures. System administrators should configure proper file system permissions for temporary directories, implement randomized temporary file naming conventions, and monitor for suspicious file creation patterns. The use of application whitelisting and mandatory access controls can further reduce the attack surface. Regular security training for developers should emphasize secure coding practices for temporary file handling, particularly in cryptographic applications. Organizations should also consider implementing intrusion detection systems to monitor for unauthorized file modifications in certificate-related directories and establish incident response procedures specifically addressing certificate compromise scenarios.