CVE-2022-20091 in MT6580
Summary
by MITRE • 05/04/2022
In aee driver, there is a possible use after free due to a race condition. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with System execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Patch ID: ALPS06209201; Issue ID: ALPS06226345.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/07/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-20091 resides within the aee driver component of Android-based systems, representing a critical security flaw that stems from improper memory management practices. This issue manifests as a use-after-free condition that occurs due to a race condition in the driver's implementation, creating a scenario where memory locations may be accessed after they have been deallocated. The aee driver, which stands for Android Error Exception, serves as a critical system component responsible for handling system-level errors and crash reporting, making it an attractive target for privilege escalation attacks. The vulnerability's classification as a race condition aligns with CWE-362, which specifically addresses concurrent execution issues that can lead to security flaws. The flaw exists in the driver's handling of memory allocation and deallocation processes, where multiple threads or processes can potentially access the same memory location simultaneously, leading to unpredictable behavior when memory is freed and subsequently accessed.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple system instability, as it enables local privilege escalation to system-level execution privileges without requiring any user interaction for exploitation. This characteristic makes the vulnerability particularly dangerous as it can be leveraged by malicious applications or processes running with standard user privileges to elevate their access level to that of the system itself. The absence of user interaction requirements significantly increases the attack surface and reduces the barriers to exploitation, as attackers do not need to trick users into performing specific actions. The vulnerability's exploitation potential is further amplified by the fact that it operates at the kernel level through the aee driver, allowing attackers to gain complete control over the system's execution environment. This type of privilege escalation aligns with ATT&CK technique T1068, which covers "Local Privilege Escalation" through kernel exploits, and represents a fundamental breach in system security boundaries.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2022-20091 must address the underlying race condition and memory management issues within the aee driver implementation. The patch ID ALPS06209201 and associated issue ID ALPS06226345 indicate that this vulnerability has been acknowledged and addressed by the vendor, requiring immediate system updates to prevent exploitation. Organizations should prioritize patch deployment across all affected devices, particularly those running Android versions that include the vulnerable aee driver component. Additionally, system administrators should implement monitoring for unusual memory access patterns or kernel-level anomalies that might indicate exploitation attempts. The fix likely involves implementing proper synchronization mechanisms to prevent concurrent access to shared memory resources, ensuring that memory deallocation occurs only after all references have been properly released. Security teams should also consider implementing runtime protection measures and behavioral analysis to detect potential exploitation attempts, as the vulnerability's nature makes it difficult to identify through traditional signature-based detection methods. The remediation process should include thorough testing to ensure that the patch does not introduce regressions in system functionality while maintaining the security hardening measures necessary to prevent similar race condition vulnerabilities in the future.