CVE-2024-0285 in OpenHarmony
Summary
by MITRE • 02/02/2024
in OpenHarmony v4.0.0 and prior versions allow a local attacker cause DOS through improper input.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/19/2026
OpenHarmony version 4.0.0 and earlier releases contain a vulnerability that enables local attackers to induce denial of service conditions through improper input handling. This flaw resides in the operating system's input validation mechanisms and represents a critical security weakness that can be exploited by adversaries with local access privileges. The vulnerability stems from insufficient sanitization of user-supplied data within the system's core components, allowing malicious inputs to disrupt normal system operations.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves improper validation of input parameters that are processed by kernel-level components or system services. When malformed or unexpected input is provided to these components, the system fails to properly handle the data, resulting in abrupt termination of processes or system instability. This behavior aligns with common software security weaknesses categorized under CWE-20, which addresses "Improper Input Validation" as a fundamental flaw in software design. The vulnerability affects multiple system services that rely on user input for operation, creating a broad attack surface for local privilege escalation scenarios.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risks to system availability and reliability. Local attackers can exploit this weakness to crash critical system processes, potentially causing complete system downtime or rendering devices inoperable until manual intervention occurs. The impact extends beyond simple service disruption as the denial of service can affect core system functions such as device boot processes, network connectivity, or user interface responsiveness. This type of vulnerability is particularly concerning in embedded systems and IoT devices where recovery procedures may be limited or automated processes could be severely impacted.
The exploitation of this vulnerability typically requires local system access, making it less accessible than remote attacks but still posing substantial risks to system integrity. Attackers can craft specific inputs designed to trigger memory corruption, buffer overflows, or other input processing failures that lead to system crashes. The attack vector aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004, which covers "Endpoint Denial of Service" through resource consumption or process termination. Security practitioners should note that this vulnerability can be leveraged as part of broader attack chains where initial access leads to local privilege escalation and subsequent exploitation of system stability.
Mitigation strategies should focus on implementing robust input validation mechanisms throughout the system architecture and applying timely security patches from Huawei's official release channels. System administrators should consider implementing monitoring solutions to detect unusual process termination patterns or resource consumption spikes that may indicate exploitation attempts. Additionally, the implementation of proper error handling and graceful degradation mechanisms can help minimize the impact of successful exploitation attempts. Organizations should also conduct regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing to identify similar weaknesses in their OpenHarmony deployments and ensure proper system hardening measures are in place to prevent unauthorized local access to system resources.