CVE-2026-58885 in Android
Summary
by MITRE • 11/02/2026
In multiple locations, there is a possible permission bypass due to a confused deputy. 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 • 11/02/2026
The vulnerability described represents a classic Confused Deputy problem, which falls under the category of improper authorization failures within software systems. In this specific instance, an application or system component acts on behalf of a user but fails to properly verify whether it has the authority to perform actions that could escalate privileges beyond what is intended for that context. This flaw allows an attacker who gains local access to manipulate the confused deputy into performing privileged operations without requiring additional execution privileges such as code injection or remote code execution capabilities. The absence of required user interaction further exacerbates the risk, enabling automated exploitation by any authenticated local user or process with minimal effort.
From a technical perspective, this type of vulnerability typically arises when an application does not correctly enforce access controls during privilege escalation scenarios. For example, if a service running at higher privileges invokes another component without validating that the calling context is authorized to trigger such elevated actions, it creates a pathway for unauthorized privilege elevation. The confused deputy mechanism often involves misconfigured permissions or insufficient checks on input parameters passed between components with differing trust levels. Attackers can exploit these gaps by crafting specific inputs that cause the privileged component to execute commands in an unintended manner, effectively bypassing security boundaries established by the operating system or application architecture.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant because it facilitates local privilege escalation from a standard user account to administrative or root-level access. Once escalated, attackers can modify system configurations, install persistent backdoors, exfiltrate sensitive data, and potentially pivot to other systems within the network. Since no additional execution privileges are needed for exploitation, even users with limited initial access poses a substantial threat vector. The lack of required user interaction means that automated tools can rapidly identify and exploit this weakness across multiple affected instances without manual intervention, increasing both the speed and scale of potential attacks.
Industry standards such as CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management) provide a framework for understanding how these vulnerabilities occur due to inadequate enforcement of access control policies during privilege transitions. Additionally, MITRE ATT&CK technique T1078 (Valid Accounts) highlights how attackers leverage legitimate credentials combined with flawed internal logic to achieve higher levels of system access. To mitigate this risk, developers should implement strict validation checks before any privileged operations are executed, ensuring that all inputs meet expected criteria and originate from trusted sources. Principle of least privilege must be enforced throughout the application lifecycle so that components operate only at necessary permission levels while maintaining clear separation between user-initiated actions and background processes requiring elevated rights. Regular security audits focusing on authorization logic alongside automated static analysis tools can help identify similar patterns early in development stages preventing their deployment into production environments where they pose serious threats to organizational integrity