CVE-2026-101181 in HarmonyOS
Summary
by MITRE • 11/02/2026
Permission control vulnerability in the WLAN module. Impact: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may affect service confidentiality.
VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/02/2026
The identified security flaw resides within the wireless local area network (WLAN) subsystem, specifically concerning its permission management architecture. This vulnerability stems from an inadequate implementation of access controls that govern how different software components and user contexts interact with sensitive WLAN configuration data and operational parameters. In a properly secured system, privilege separation ensures that only authorized processes or users can modify critical settings such as encryption keys, authentication credentials, or network association states. However, in this instance, the enforcement mechanisms are either missing, misconfigured, or bypassable due to logical errors in the permission checking routines. This architectural weakness allows lower-privileged entities or malicious actors who have gained initial foothold within the system to escalate their privileges and manipulate WLAN settings without proper authorization checks.
The technical nature of this flaw typically involves a failure to validate the security context of incoming requests before processing them against sensitive resources. For example, an application running with standard user permissions might be able to invoke functions that alter network interface configurations or retrieve stored Wi-Fi passwords because the underlying API does not strictly enforce role-based access control (RBAC) or mandatory access controls (MAC). This lack of strict boundary enforcement means that any component capable of interacting with the WLAN module can potentially read sensitive configuration files, modify connection parameters, or extract cryptographic material intended for secure communication. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it undermines the fundamental trust model upon which network security relies, allowing internal threats to compromise the integrity and confidentiality of wireless communications.
The operational impact of this permission control failure is significant, primarily affecting service confidentiality as noted in the initial report. By exploiting this flaw, an attacker can gain unauthorized access to sensitive data transmitted over or stored by the WLAN module. This includes pre-shared keys (PSKs), enterprise authentication credentials such as EAP-TLS certificates and private keys, and potentially session tokens used for ongoing network connections. The exposure of these secrets allows adversaries to decrypt previously captured traffic, impersonate legitimate users during authentication processes, or establish rogue access points that mimic trusted networks to perform man-in-the-middle attacks. Consequently, the confidentiality of data flowing through the wireless interface is compromised, leading to potential leakage of proprietary information, personal identifiable information (PII), and other sensitive corporate assets.
From a classification perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-269 Improper Privilege Management or CWE-732 Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource within the Common Weakness Enumeration framework. It also maps closely to ATT&CK technique T1550.004 Use Alternate Authentication Material, as an attacker could leverage stolen credentials obtained through this flaw to authenticate into other systems on the network. Furthermore, it relates to T1078 Valid Accounts if the exploitation involves using compromised local service accounts that have excessive permissions within the WLAN subsystem. Understanding these mappings helps in contextualizing the risk and aligning remediation efforts with established industry standards for vulnerability management and security hardening.
To mitigate this vulnerability, immediate action should focus on implementing strict least-privilege principles across all components of the WLAN stack. Developers must audit the codebase to ensure that every function accessing sensitive configuration data or cryptographic material performs rigorous permission checks against the current user context or process identity. Utilizing operating system-level security features such as SELinux policies or Windows Integrity Levels can provide an additional layer of enforcement independent of application logic. Additionally, regular static and dynamic analysis should be employed to detect privilege escalation paths early in the development lifecycle. For deployed systems, applying vendor-provided patches that address these permission checks is critical. Organizations should also monitor for anomalous access patterns to WLAN configuration files or unexpected changes in network settings as indicators of potential exploitation attempts.