CVE-2022-41801 in Connect M App
Summary
by MITRE • 05/10/2023
Uncontrolled resource consumption in the Intel(R) Connect M Android application before version 1.82 may allow an authenticated user to potentially enable denial of service via local access.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/02/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-41801 represents a critical resource consumption issue within the Intel(R) Connect M Android application ecosystem. This flaw affects versions prior to 1.82 and specifically targets the application's handling of system resources during authenticated operations. The vulnerability manifests when an authenticated user exploits local access capabilities to consume excessive system resources, potentially leading to system instability or complete service unavailability. The Intel Connect M application serves as a management interface for Intel's IoT and edge computing solutions, making this vulnerability particularly concerning for enterprise and industrial deployments where continuous system availability is paramount. The issue stems from inadequate resource management controls within the application's codebase, allowing malicious or unintended resource consumption patterns that can overwhelm system processes and memory allocation mechanisms.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the application's failure to properly monitor and constrain resource usage during authenticated operations. When a user accesses the application with valid credentials, the system does not implement adequate safeguards to prevent excessive CPU, memory, or file descriptor consumption. This uncontrolled resource allocation can occur through various attack vectors including repeated API calls, malformed data processing, or exploitation of recursive functions that do not properly terminate. The flaw aligns with CWE-400, which categorizes uncontrolled resource consumption as a common weakness in software design where applications fail to properly manage resource allocation and deallocation. The vulnerability's impact is amplified by the fact that it requires only local authentication, meaning that any user with valid credentials can potentially trigger the resource exhaustion condition without requiring network-level access or complex attack chains.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates significant risks for organizations deploying Intel Connect M applications in production environments. The potential denial of service impact can disrupt critical IoT and edge computing operations, particularly in scenarios where the application manages network connectivity, device provisioning, or system monitoring functions. The local access requirement reduces the attack surface complexity but does not eliminate the threat, as authenticated users may have legitimate access to systems but could abuse their privileges to cause service disruption. Organizations running these applications face potential business continuity issues, especially in industrial control systems or network management platforms where the application serves as a critical operational interface. The vulnerability can be exploited to cause system crashes, application hangs, or performance degradation that may require manual intervention to restore normal operations.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2022-41801 should prioritize immediate patching to version 1.82 or later, which contains the necessary resource management fixes and controls. System administrators should implement monitoring solutions to detect unusual resource consumption patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts, particularly focusing on CPU and memory usage spikes during authenticated sessions. Network segmentation and access controls should be reinforced to limit local access privileges where possible, reducing the potential impact of authenticated exploitation. The application should be configured with resource limits and timeouts to prevent indefinite resource consumption, and regular security audits should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in related software components. Organizations should also consider implementing behavioral analytics to detect anomalous usage patterns that deviate from normal operational baselines, providing early warning capabilities for potential exploitation attempts. This vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper resource management in mobile applications and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004 which covers network denial of service attacks through resource exhaustion, highlighting the need for comprehensive resource management controls in all application components.