CVE-2023-30725 in Samsung
Summary
by MITRE • 09/06/2023
Improper authentication in LocalProvier of Gallery prior to version 14.5.01.2 allows attacker to access the data in content provider.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/02/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-30725 represents a critical authentication flaw within the LocalProvider component of the Gallery application, affecting versions prior to 14.5.01.2. This issue resides in the content provider implementation where insufficient authentication mechanisms fail to properly validate user credentials or permissions before granting access to sensitive data. The flaw manifests as an improper authentication condition that allows unauthorized parties to bypass normal access controls and directly interact with the content provider. This vulnerability falls under the broader category of weak authentication mechanisms that can be exploited to gain unauthorized access to protected resources. The LocalProvider component typically serves as an interface for managing and retrieving media content within the gallery application, making it a prime target for attackers seeking to access private or sensitive user data. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple data exposure as it fundamentally undermines the security model of the application's data access controls. According to CWE classification, this represents a weakness in authentication mechanisms where proper validation procedures are not enforced, creating an entry point for unauthorized access. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 which covers valid accounts and credential access, as attackers can leverage this flaw to access protected content without proper authorization. The improper authentication mechanism allows attackers to manipulate the content provider interface directly, potentially accessing media files, metadata, or other sensitive information stored within the application's data repository.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when an attacker can invoke the LocalProvider functionality without proper authentication checks. This typically involves leveraging the content provider's exposed interfaces to query or retrieve data that should normally require valid user credentials or administrative privileges. The flaw likely stems from missing or incorrectly implemented permission checks that should validate whether the requesting entity has legitimate access rights to the requested resources. Attackers can potentially enumerate content, extract sensitive media files, or access associated metadata that could contain personal information or proprietary content. The vulnerability's scope is particularly concerning because content providers often handle large volumes of user-generated content, including photos, videos, and associated metadata that may contain sensitive personal information. The authentication bypass allows for both read and potentially write operations depending on the content provider's design, increasing the potential impact to include data modification or deletion. The flaw represents a classic case of insufficient authorization checks where the system fails to verify that the requesting entity possesses the necessary permissions to access the requested data.
The operational impact of CVE-2023-30725 extends beyond immediate data exposure to encompass potential privacy violations and data integrity concerns. Organizations using affected Gallery versions may face regulatory compliance issues if user data is accessed without proper authorization, particularly in environments governed by privacy regulations such as GDPR or HIPAA. The vulnerability creates a persistent security risk that remains active until the affected application is updated to a patched version. Attackers can leverage this flaw to conduct systematic data harvesting operations, potentially accessing large datasets across multiple user accounts if the content provider interface is not properly secured. The impact is amplified when considering that gallery applications often store personal media content including family photos, sensitive documents, or other private information that users expect to be protected. From a defensive perspective, this vulnerability demonstrates the importance of implementing proper access controls and authorization mechanisms within mobile applications. The flaw may also enable attackers to use the compromised content provider as a stepping stone for further attacks within the application ecosystem or potentially to gain access to other interconnected systems. Security teams must consider this vulnerability as part of their broader threat modeling efforts, particularly when assessing mobile application security postures. The vulnerability's remediation requires proper authentication implementation within the LocalProvider component, ensuring that all content provider operations require appropriate validation of user credentials or application permissions. Organizations should implement comprehensive monitoring to detect unauthorized access attempts to content provider interfaces and establish proper incident response procedures for potential data exposure events.
The mitigation strategy for CVE-2023-30725 requires immediate application of the vendor-provided patch or update to version 14.5.01.2 or later where the authentication mechanisms have been properly implemented. Security administrators should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify all instances of the affected Gallery application within their environment and ensure timely patch deployment. The remediation process should include thorough testing to verify that the authentication fixes do not introduce regressions in application functionality. Organizations should also implement additional monitoring controls specifically targeting content provider access patterns to detect potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of proper authentication implementation in mobile application development, particularly for components that handle user data. Security teams should review their mobile application security practices to ensure that content providers and similar interfaces properly enforce access controls. The fix typically involves implementing robust permission checking mechanisms that validate user credentials before allowing content provider operations to proceed, along with proper logging of access attempts for security monitoring purposes. Regular security assessments and code reviews should be conducted to identify similar authentication weaknesses in other application components. The vulnerability also underscores the need for proper security testing during the development lifecycle, including security scanning of content provider interfaces and access control implementations. Organizations should establish procedures for rapid response to security advisories and maintain up-to-date inventories of all applications and their versions to quickly identify and remediate affected systems. The remediation process should include verification that all content provider operations now properly enforce authentication requirements and that unauthorized access attempts are appropriately rejected.