CVE-2023-29749 in Navigator
Summary
by MITRE • 06/09/2023
An issue found in Yandex Navigator v.6.60 for Android allows unauthorized apps to cause escalation of privilege attacks by manipulating the SharedPreference files.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/14/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-29749 represents a critical privilege escalation flaw within Yandex Navigator version 6.60 for Android operating systems. This security weakness stems from improper handling of SharedPreference files that are used by the application to store configuration data and user settings. The vulnerability allows malicious applications with no special permissions to manipulate these preference files and potentially elevate their privileges to gain access to sensitive application resources or user data. The flaw specifically impacts the Android platform's security model by undermining the isolation mechanisms that should prevent unauthorized access between applications.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the manipulation of SharedPreference files through the Android application sandboxing model. When Yandex Navigator stores user preferences, settings, and potentially sensitive configuration data in shared preference files, the application fails to properly validate or secure these data stores against external modification attempts. Attackers can exploit this by creating malicious applications that attempt to modify these preference files directly, potentially overwriting critical configuration values that control application behavior or access controls. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-276 category of improper privilege management, where the application does not adequately enforce access controls for sensitive data storage mechanisms.
The operational impact of CVE-2023-29749 extends beyond simple data manipulation to potentially enable complete system compromise through privilege escalation techniques. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could gain unauthorized access to user location data, navigation history, personal preferences, and other sensitive information stored within the Yandex Navigator application. The attack vector leverages the Android system's permission model weakness where applications can manipulate shared preferences of other applications without proper authorization checks. This vulnerability particularly affects mobile users who rely on navigation applications for personal and professional activities, creating potential privacy breaches and data exposure risks. The attack surface is further expanded when considering that many users may have multiple applications installed that could potentially exploit this weakness to gain elevated privileges within the Yandex Navigator context.
Security mitigations for this vulnerability should focus on implementing proper input validation and access control mechanisms for SharedPreference file operations within the Yandex Navigator application. The recommended approach includes enforcing strict file permission controls on preference files, implementing proper access validation before any preference modification attempts, and ensuring that the application properly handles external interference with its configuration data stores. Additionally, developers should implement proper cryptographic protection for sensitive preference values and establish robust integrity checking mechanisms to detect unauthorized modifications. The remediation efforts should align with the ATT&CK framework's privilege escalation techniques by addressing the specific weakness in Android's application sandboxing model and ensuring proper enforcement of application isolation principles. Organizations should also consider implementing mobile application security controls that monitor for unauthorized preference file access patterns and establish proper application security testing procedures to identify similar vulnerabilities in other mobile applications.