CVE-2023-33882 in SC9863A
Summary
by MITRE • 07/12/2023
In telephony service, there is a missing permission check. This could lead to local information disclosure with no additional execution privileges needed.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/02/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-33882 represents a critical permission bypass flaw within telephony service implementations that exposes sensitive system information to unauthorized local entities. This issue resides in the core telephony subsystem where proper access controls have been inadequately enforced, creating a pathway for information disclosure attacks that require no elevated privileges or additional execution capabilities. The vulnerability manifests when the telephony service fails to validate whether requesting processes possess appropriate authorization levels before granting access to telephony-related data structures and system resources. This missing permission check creates a fundamental security gap that allows local attackers to access confidential telephony information including call logs, contact details, device identifiers, and potentially other sensitive metadata that should be restricted to authorized applications or system processes.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-284, which specifically addresses improper access control mechanisms within software systems. The flaw operates at the service level where authentication and authorization checks are bypassed, allowing any local process to query telephony service interfaces without proper verification of credentials or application permissions. From an operational perspective, this vulnerability can be exploited by malicious applications or processes running on the same device, potentially enabling reconnaissance activities that could lead to more sophisticated attacks. The impact extends beyond simple information disclosure as the leaked data may contain patterns that could be used for social engineering, device fingerprinting, or as part of broader attack vectors targeting the device or its users.
This vulnerability creates significant operational risks for mobile devices and telephony systems where local privilege escalation is not required for exploitation. The attack surface is particularly concerning because it affects the fundamental security model of telephony services, which are expected to maintain strict boundaries between different application contexts. The lack of additional execution privileges required for exploitation means that even simple malware or compromised applications can leverage this flaw to extract sensitive information. This characteristic places the vulnerability in the ATT&CK framework under technique T1083 (File and Directory Discovery) and potentially T1059 (Command and Scripting Interpreter) when combined with other reconnaissance activities. The information disclosure could include device-specific identifiers, user contact information, communication patterns, and potentially even network configuration details that could aid in further attacks.
Organizations and device manufacturers should implement immediate mitigations including comprehensive permission model reviews, enforcement of mandatory access controls, and regular security audits of telephony service interfaces. The recommended approach involves strengthening the permission checking mechanisms within the telephony service to ensure that all requests undergo proper authentication and authorization verification before any sensitive data is returned. Additionally, system administrators should consider implementing monitoring solutions that can detect anomalous access patterns to telephony service interfaces, which may indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability underscores the importance of defense-in-depth strategies where multiple layers of security controls work together to protect critical system services from unauthorized access, particularly in mobile environments where local attack surfaces are increasingly targeted by sophisticated threat actors.