CVE-2026-58974 in Android
Summary
by MITRE • 11/02/2026
In multiple locations, there is a possible permission bypass due to a missing permission check. 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 critical security flaw characterized by the absence of mandatory access control checks within specific system components or application modules. In secure software architecture, every operation that modifies state or accesses sensitive resources must be preceded by an authorization verification step to ensure the invoking entity possesses the requisite privileges for that action. The identified defect indicates that these protective barriers are either entirely missing or improperly implemented in multiple locations throughout the codebase. This omission allows any authenticated user, and potentially unauthenticated actors depending on the entry points, to invoke functions or access resources without satisfying the expected permission requirements. Such a failure fundamentally undermines the principle of least privilege, which dictates that users should only have access to the data and functionality necessary for their specific roles.
From a technical perspective, this flaw constitutes an authorization bypass where the system fails to validate whether the current user context has sufficient rights before executing sensitive operations. The impact is severe because it facilitates local escalation of privilege. An attacker who gains initial foothold on the system through any vector can exploit these unchecked code paths to perform actions reserved for higher-privileged accounts, such as administrators or root users. Since no additional execution privileges are required beyond what an average user possesses, and no user interaction is needed during exploitation, the attack complexity is minimal. This significantly lowers the barrier for entry, allowing automated tools to rapidly traverse vulnerable endpoints and elevate access levels without triggering typical behavioral anomalies that might alert security monitoring systems.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends far beyond simple privilege escalation. Once an attacker achieves elevated privileges, they can manipulate system configurations, install persistent backdoors, exfiltrate sensitive data with unrestricted access, or pivot to other machines within the network infrastructure. The lack of user interaction requirement means that if the vulnerable service is exposed via a network interface, remote exploitation becomes feasible, although the description emphasizes local escalation potential. Even in purely local scenarios, an attacker can bypass sandboxing mechanisms and isolation boundaries designed to contain malicious processes. This compromises the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of the entire system environment, potentially leading to complete compromise of organizational assets hosted on the affected machine.
In terms of industry standards classification, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-269 Improper Privilege Management or more specifically CWE-862 Missing Authorization. It also maps directly to MITRE ATT&CK technique T1078 Valid Accounts and potentially T1548 Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism if the bypass involves manipulating access control lists or security tokens. The absence of permission checks is a classic example of insecure direct object references when applied to specific resources, falling under CWE-639. Recognizing these mappings helps in categorizing the risk accurately within vulnerability management programs and ensures that remediation efforts address both the immediate code defect and broader architectural weaknesses related to identity and access management frameworks.
Mitigation strategies must focus on implementing robust authorization checks at every entry point where sensitive operations are performed. Developers should adopt a defense-in-depth approach, ensuring that permission validation is not solely reliant on client-side controls but enforced strictly server-side or within the kernel space depending on the component affected. Utilizing established security libraries and frameworks that handle authentication and authorization consistently can reduce the risk of human error in code implementation. Additionally, implementing principle-based access control models such as Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) or Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC) ensures that permissions are dynamically evaluated based on user attributes rather than static checks. Regular code reviews focusing specifically on security logic and automated static analysis tools configured to detect missing authorization patterns can help identify similar flaws before deployment.
To further harden the system against exploitation of this vulnerability, organizations should implement strict logging and monitoring for privilege escalation attempts. Detecting anomalous behavior where a standard user account performs administrative tasks can trigger immediate incident response actions even if the exploit succeeds initially. Network segmentation limits the blast radius by ensuring that compromised low-privilege accounts cannot easily reach high-value targets. Furthermore, applying security patches promptly is essential as vendors typically release updates to address such critical flaws in their permission handling logic. Continuous integration pipelines should include security testing stages that simulate privilege escalation attempts to verify that access controls are functioning correctly across all identified vulnerable locations before new code reaches production environments.