CVE-2022-22266 in TencentWifiSecurity
Summary
by MITRE • 01/10/2022
(Applicable to China models only) Unprotected WifiEvaluationService in TencentWifiSecurity application prior to SMR Jan-2022 Release 1 allows untrusted applications to get WiFi information without proper permission.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/13/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-22266 affects specific China models of the TencentWifiSecurity application where the WifiEvaluationService component lacks proper access controls. This represents a critical security flaw in the Android application security model where sensitive WiFi network information can be accessed by untrusted applications without appropriate authorization. The vulnerability specifically targets devices running versions of the TencentWifiSecurity application prior to the SMR January 2022 release, indicating this was a known issue that required a security patch to address. The flaw resides in the service's exposure to external applications through improper permission controls, creating an attack surface that allows malicious actors to gather WiFi network details without legitimate access rights.
This security weakness manifests as an insufficient access control mechanism within the WifiEvaluationService component, which should have implemented proper permission checks before allowing access to WiFi network information. The vulnerability directly maps to CWE-284, which describes improper access control in software systems where entities lack proper authorization to access resources. The flaw enables unauthorized applications to potentially collect sensitive network data including SSID information, network security types, signal strength measurements, and other WiFi-related metadata that could be exploited for various malicious purposes including network reconnaissance and targeted attacks. The service's exposure creates a privilege escalation vector where untrusted applications can bypass normal security boundaries to access sensitive system information.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure to potentially enable more sophisticated attacks. An attacker with access to the vulnerable service could gather comprehensive WiFi network intelligence to perform targeted network reconnaissance, identify vulnerable networks, or even facilitate man-in-the-middle attacks against connected devices. The exposure of WiFi information could also enable social engineering attacks where attackers use network details to craft more convincing phishing campaigns or impersonate legitimate network access points. Additionally, the vulnerability could contribute to broader privacy violations by allowing unauthorized collection of network usage patterns and device connectivity information that reveals user behavior and location data.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on implementing proper access controls and permission enforcement within the WifiEvaluationService component. The primary fix involves ensuring that only trusted applications with appropriate permissions can access WiFi network information through the service interface. Security patches should enforce strict signature verification and permission checking before allowing any external application access to the WiFi evaluation service. Organizations should also implement runtime monitoring to detect unauthorized access attempts to sensitive network services and establish proper application sandboxing to limit the scope of potential exploitation. The remediation aligns with ATT&CK technique T1046 which involves network service scanning and reconnaissance activities that could be enabled by such information disclosure vulnerabilities. System administrators should ensure all affected devices receive the SMR January 2022 security update or later versions that properly address the access control flaw.