CVE-2026-59016 in Android
Summary
by MITRE • 11/02/2026
In sendAnomalyProfile of ProfilingService.java, there is a possible path traversal issue due to path traversal. 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 sendAnomalyProfile method within the ProfilingService.java class represents a critical security flaw rooted in improper handling of file system paths, specifically categorized under CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory. This type of path traversal issue arises when an application accepts user-supplied or externally influenced input that is used to construct file paths without adequate sanitization or validation. In this specific context, the ProfilingService appears to be processing data related to anomaly profiles, likely for security monitoring or behavioral analysis purposes. The service fails to properly restrict the destination directory where these profile files are written or read from, allowing an attacker to manipulate the input path components to escape the intended sandboxed environment and access arbitrary locations on the local file system.
From a technical perspective, this flaw typically manifests when special characters such as dot-dot-slash sequences (../) or encoded variations thereof are passed into the function without being stripped or validated against a whitelist of allowed directories. Because Java applications often run with specific user privileges depending on their deployment configuration, successfully exploiting this vulnerability can allow an attacker to write files to sensitive system locations or read confidential data from restricted areas. The absence of strict path canonicalization and boundary checks means that relative paths provided by the input are resolved directly against the current working directory or a base path without verifying if the resulting absolute path remains within the expected application boundaries. This lack of validation is a common oversight in services handling dynamic file operations, particularly when dealing with profiling data that may include complex identifiers or metadata strings.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe due to its potential for local privilege escalation and unauthorized access. Since user interaction is not required for exploitation, the attack vector is considered remote if the service is exposed over a network, making it highly susceptible to automated attacks by malicious actors scanning for vulnerable endpoints. An attacker who exploits this path traversal flaw could potentially overwrite critical configuration files, inject malicious scripts into web-accessible directories, or exfiltrate sensitive profiling data that contains user behavior patterns and security metrics. This compromise undermines the integrity of the anomaly detection system itself, as attackers might alter profiles to evade future detection mechanisms while simultaneously gaining a foothold within the application server environment. The ability to write files without additional execution privileges further lowers the barrier for exploitation, allowing even low-privileged accounts or external services interacting with this API to cause significant damage.
To mitigate this vulnerability, developers must implement robust input validation and path canonicalization techniques immediately. All file paths derived from user input should be resolved to their absolute form using standard library functions such as java.nio.file.Path.normalize() followed by a check against the expected base directory using startsWith(). It is crucial to reject any request where the normalized path does not reside strictly within the designated profiling data directory. Additionally, employing allowlists for permitted characters in filenames and avoiding dynamic file name construction from untrusted sources can significantly reduce risk. From an architectural standpoint, applying the principle of least privilege ensures that even if exploitation occurs, the impact is contained by restricting the application user's permissions on the underlying operating system. Regular security audits focusing on CWE-22 patterns and integrating static analysis tools into the CI/CD pipeline will help detect similar issues before deployment. Furthermore, monitoring for unusual file access patterns can aid in early detection of attempted exploits aligned with ATT&CK techniques related to persistence or collection via local file operations.