CVE-2022-48495 in EMUI
Summary
by MITRE • 06/19/2023
Vulnerability of unauthorized access to foreground app information.Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may cause foreground app information to be obtained.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/15/2023
This vulnerability represents a critical authorization flaw that allows malicious actors to access foreground application information without proper authentication or permission. The issue stems from inadequate access controls within the system's application management framework, where foreground app data that should be protected remains accessible to unauthorized entities. This weakness directly violates fundamental security principles of least privilege and proper access control enforcement, creating potential exposure of sensitive user data and application state information.
The technical implementation flaw likely resides in the application state monitoring mechanisms or the foreground application tracking system. When applications transition to the foreground, the system typically maintains metadata about the currently active application including its name, package identifier, and potentially user interface elements. The vulnerability occurs when these data structures are accessible through improper API calls or system interfaces that bypass standard authorization checks. This flaw may be categorized under CWE-284 - Improper Access Control, which specifically addresses inadequate access control mechanisms that allow unauthorized access to resources.
From an operational perspective, successful exploitation of this vulnerability can lead to significant privacy and security implications. Adversaries can gather information about user activities, track application usage patterns, and potentially identify sensitive applications in use. This information can be leveraged for targeted attacks, social engineering campaigns, or to build profiles of user behavior patterns. The vulnerability may also enable more sophisticated attacks such as application hijacking or privilege escalation attempts that rely on knowledge of the current foreground application context. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability aligns with T1059 - Command and Scripting Interpreter and T1552 - Unsecured Credentials, as it provides access to application context that can be used for further exploitation.
The impact extends beyond simple information disclosure to potentially enable more severe security breaches. An attacker with access to foreground application information could correlate this data with other system information to build comprehensive user activity profiles or identify potential targets for more sophisticated attacks. This vulnerability particularly affects mobile operating systems and application frameworks where foreground application tracking is essential for system functionality but must remain protected from unauthorized access. Organizations should implement comprehensive access control measures including proper input validation, authentication checks, and privilege enforcement mechanisms to prevent unauthorized access to foreground application information.
Mitigation strategies should focus on strengthening access control mechanisms and implementing proper authorization checks for all application context information. System administrators should ensure that foreground application tracking APIs are properly secured with appropriate authentication and authorization controls. Regular security assessments should verify that access controls are functioning correctly and that no unauthorized access paths exist. The implementation of principle of least privilege should be enforced, ensuring that only authorized processes and users can access foreground application information. Additionally, monitoring and logging mechanisms should be implemented to detect unauthorized access attempts to application context information, providing visibility into potential exploitation attempts and supporting incident response activities.