CVE-2026-55266 in Android
Summary
by MITRE • 10/05/2026
In qsort of libufdt_sysdeps_vendor.c, there is a possible out-of-bounds write due to resource exhaustion. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/05/2026
The vulnerability identified in the quick sort implementation within libufdt_sysdeps_vendor.c represents a critical security flaw rooted in improper handling of memory allocation during sorting operations. Specifically, this issue manifests as an out-of-bounds write condition triggered by resource exhaustion scenarios. When the qsort function attempts to allocate temporary buffers or manage stack space for its recursive calls and auxiliary data structures, it fails to adequately validate whether sufficient resources are available before proceeding with memory writes. This lack of robust boundary checking allows an attacker who can influence the input parameters passed to this sorting routine to force a state where the system allocates insufficient memory or mismanages existing allocations, leading to write operations that extend beyond the intended buffer boundaries into adjacent memory regions.
From a technical perspective, this flaw aligns with CWE-789: Memory Allocation with Excessive Size, and more critically, CWE-120: Buffer Overflow without consideration of input size limits in specific execution contexts involving resource constraints. The core issue lies not merely in the algorithmic logic but in the defensive programming practices surrounding memory management under stress conditions. In embedded systems or Android-based environments where libufdt is commonly utilized for device tree manipulation, such a vulnerability can be particularly dangerous because it may occur during system initialization or configuration updates that are often triggered by low-level processes with elevated privileges. The absence of strict checks on the size of data structures being sorted means that if an attacker provides crafted input that causes the sorting algorithm to behave unpredictably under resource pressure, they can corrupt adjacent memory segments containing critical control flow data or security tokens.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe due to its potential for local privilege escalation. An adversary with limited access rights could exploit this flaw to execute arbitrary code within a higher-privileged context without requiring additional execution privileges from the victim user account. This characteristic significantly lowers the barrier for exploitation, as it does not rely on complex social engineering or physical interaction beyond initial access to the vulnerable service or process. The fact that user interaction is not required further amplifies the risk, allowing for automated attacks via network services or background processes that invoke this library function with maliciously crafted inputs. Such scenarios are common in IoT devices and mobile operating systems where device tree files might be processed by system daemons running as root or other privileged users.
This vulnerability maps directly to MITRE ATT&CK technique T1068: Exploitation for Privilege Escalation, specifically through memory corruption mechanisms that allow attackers to hijack control flow. By overwriting adjacent memory structures such as return addresses, function pointers, or security cookies, an attacker can redirect program execution to shellcode injected into the process space. The lack of user interaction requirement places this in a high-severity category within threat modeling frameworks, indicating that remote code execution leading to privilege escalation is feasible if the vulnerable component is exposed via any IPC mechanism or file processing pipeline accessible by unprivileged users.
Mitigation strategies must focus on hardening the memory management routines within the qsort implementation and enforcing stricter resource validation protocols. Developers should implement explicit checks for available system resources before initiating large-scale sorting operations, ensuring that allocations do not exceed safe limits defined by the operating environment's constraints. Additionally, incorporating bounds-checking mechanisms into all buffer write operations is essential to prevent out-of-bounds writes even when unexpected memory states occur. Utilizing static analysis tools and fuzz testing during development can help identify these edge cases early in the lifecycle. For deployed systems, applying vendor patches that address this specific logic error in libufdt_sysdeps_vendor.c is critical. Furthermore, enabling security features such as Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR) and Stack Canaries can mitigate the exploitability of memory corruption vulnerabilities by making it significantly harder for attackers to predict target addresses or bypass stack protection mechanisms effectively.