CVE-2026-58994 in Android
Summary
by MITRE • 11/02/2026
In multiple functions of NfcService.java, 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 identified in the Android framework's NfcService component represents a critical security flaw rooted in insufficient access control mechanisms within the Java-based service layer responsible for managing Near Field Communication operations. This issue specifically manifests as a missing permission check across multiple functions, allowing processes or applications that lack the necessary elevated privileges to interact with sensitive NFC subsystems directly. In modern mobile operating systems like Android, services such as NfcService act as intermediaries between user-space applications and kernel-level hardware drivers, enforcing security policies through declared permissions in the system manifest. When these checks are omitted, the service fails to validate whether the calling entity possesses the required android.permission.NFC or other related privileges before executing sensitive commands. This architectural oversight effectively neutralizes a primary defense mechanism designed to isolate untrusted code from privileged system resources, creating a direct pathway for unauthorized access that does not rely on complex exploitation techniques or social engineering vectors.
From an operational perspective, this flaw enables local privilege escalation with significant consequences for device integrity and user privacy. An attacker who has achieved initial foothold within the Android sandboxed environment of a lower-privileged application can exploit these unchecked functions to perform actions reserved for system-level components. This includes reading sensitive data from NFC tags that may contain payment credentials or personal identification information, writing malicious payloads to secure elements on smart cards, or manipulating device connectivity settings without user consent. Because no additional execution privileges are required beyond the initial low-level access and no user interaction is needed during exploitation, the attack surface becomes highly exploitable in scenarios where malware persists silently on a compromised device. The absence of user interaction means that victims remain unaware of the ongoing malicious activity until significant damage has occurred, such as financial theft through contactless payment fraud or unauthorized data exfiltration via NFC-based protocols like Android Beam or HCE (Host Card Emulation).
This vulnerability aligns closely with CWE-284, which describes Improper Access Control, specifically highlighting failures in verifying authorization before granting access to protected resources. Furthermore, it maps directly to the MITRE ATT&CK framework under techniques related to Privilege Escalation and Defense Evasion, particularly within mobile platforms where attackers leverage system service vulnerabilities to bypass sandbox restrictions. The lack of permission verification allows the attacker to operate with higher privileges than intended by the security model, effectively breaking the isolation guarantees that protect user data from malicious applications. Such flaws are often introduced during code refactoring or feature additions when developers assume existing checks cover all entry points or fail to update access control lists for new methods added to critical services like NfcService.java.
Mitigation strategies must focus on rigorous enforcement of permission models and comprehensive code auditing practices. Developers should ensure that every public method within the NfcService class explicitly verifies caller identity using standard Android APIs such as checkCallingPermission() or enforceCallingPermission() before proceeding with any sensitive operations involving hardware interaction or data access. Additionally, implementing strict input validation for all parameters passed to these functions can prevent malformed requests from triggering unintended side effects even if permission checks are bypassed through other means. System integrators and OEMs should apply security patches that address this specific gap in the Android framework's NFC subsystem promptly. For end-users, maintaining up-to-date system software is crucial as vendors typically release updates containing fixes for such high-severity vulnerabilities. Security researchers and auditors should prioritize reviewing similar service classes within the Android Open Source Project to identify analogous patterns of missing access control checks that could lead to broader systemic weaknesses in mobile device security architectures.