CVE-2024-49841 in Snapdragon Auto
Summary
by MITRE • 05/06/2025
Memory corruption during memory assignment to headless peripheral VM due to incorrect error code handling.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/11/2025
This vulnerability represents a critical memory management flaw that occurs within virtualization environments, specifically affecting headless peripheral virtual machines. The issue stems from improper error code handling during memory allocation processes, creating conditions where memory corruption can occur when assigning memory resources to peripheral virtual machines operating without graphical interfaces. The vulnerability exists at the intersection of hypervisor memory management and peripheral device virtualization, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where headless servers and virtualized infrastructure are prevalent. According to CWE-121, this vulnerability falls under the category of stack-based buffer overflow conditions, while the improper error handling aspect aligns with CWE-755, representing a common weakness in error handling mechanisms that can lead to exploitable conditions.
The technical implementation of this flaw involves the hypervisor's memory management subsystem failing to properly validate error codes returned during memory assignment operations for peripheral virtual machines. When memory allocation requests are processed, the system does not adequately check the return values from memory management functions, allowing corrupted memory pointers or invalid memory regions to be assigned to virtual machine peripherals. This incorrect error handling can result in memory corruption that persists across multiple virtual machine operations, potentially leading to privilege escalation, denial of service conditions, or information disclosure. The headless nature of the affected virtual machines means that monitoring systems may not detect the memory corruption until it manifests in more severe operational impacts, making this vulnerability particularly insidious from a security perspective.
The operational impact of CVE-2024-49841 extends beyond simple memory corruption, as it can compromise the integrity of virtualized environments that rely heavily on peripheral device functionality. Attackers could potentially exploit this vulnerability to gain unauthorized access to virtual machine resources, manipulate data stored in virtualized peripheral devices, or cause system-wide instability through memory corruption that affects the hypervisor's ability to properly manage virtual machine resources. The vulnerability is particularly concerning in cloud computing environments where multiple virtual machines share underlying physical resources, as memory corruption in one virtual machine could potentially impact neighboring virtual machines. Organizations using headless server configurations, automated virtual machine deployments, or systems with extensive peripheral device virtualization are at heightened risk due to the nature of the memory management flaw.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate attention from system administrators and security teams responsible for virtualized environments. The primary recommendation involves applying vendor-provided patches or updates that correct the error code handling mechanisms within the hypervisor's memory management subsystem. Organizations should also implement enhanced monitoring of virtual machine memory allocation operations to detect anomalous behavior that might indicate memory corruption events. Security teams should consider implementing network segmentation and access controls to limit the potential impact of exploitation, while also conducting thorough vulnerability assessments of all virtualized environments to identify similar error handling flaws. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability could be exploited through techniques such as privilege escalation and denial of service, making comprehensive incident response planning essential for organizations that have not yet patched their systems. Additionally, implementing memory protection mechanisms and regular virtual machine memory integrity checks can help detect and prevent exploitation attempts while maintaining operational continuity.