CVE-2026-59045 in Android
Summary
by MITRE • 11/02/2026
In multiple locations, there is a possible memory corruption due to a race condition. 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 described vulnerability represents a critical security flaw characterized by a race condition that results in memory corruption within the affected software system. Race conditions occur when two or more threads access shared data concurrently, and at least one of them modifies the data without proper synchronization mechanisms such as locks or atomic operations. In this specific instance, the lack of adequate concurrency control allows an attacker to manipulate the timing of these concurrent accesses, leading to a state where memory is written in an unintended or unsafe manner. This type of flaw is fundamentally rooted in poor handling of shared resources and highlights significant deficiencies in the application's thread safety implementation. The presence of multiple locations where this occurs suggests that the issue may be systemic rather than isolated to a single function or module, indicating a broader architectural weakness in how the software manages concurrent operations.
From a technical perspective, memory corruption resulting from race conditions can manifest in various ways depending on the specific data structures involved and the nature of the write operation. It might involve heap overflow, use-after-free scenarios, or integer overflows that lead to buffer mismanagement. Because the vulnerability allows for local escalation of privilege without requiring additional execution privileges, it implies that a low-privileged user can exploit this flaw to gain higher-level access rights, potentially equivalent to those of an administrator or system root. This is particularly dangerous because it bypasses standard authentication and authorization checks by manipulating internal memory states rather than exploiting external input vectors directly. The fact that no user interaction is needed for exploitation means the vulnerability can be triggered automatically through background processes or scheduled tasks, significantly increasing its exploitability and reducing the barrier to entry for attackers.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe, as it compromises the fundamental integrity and confidentiality guarantees provided by operating system privilege separation models. An attacker who successfully exploits this race condition could execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges, install malware, create new administrative accounts, or access sensitive data that would otherwise be protected. This effectively neutralizes security controls designed to limit damage from compromised low-privilege accounts. Furthermore, because the exploitation does not require user interaction, automated attack tools can target systems running vulnerable versions of this software without any social engineering components. The widespread nature of the flaw across multiple locations increases the likelihood that at least one instance will be exploitable in a given environment, making remediation urgent to prevent potential system compromise and data breaches.
To mitigate this vulnerability, developers must implement robust synchronization mechanisms for all shared resources accessed by concurrent threads. This includes using mutexes, semaphores, or atomic operations to ensure exclusive access during critical sections of code where memory is modified. Code reviews should focus specifically on identifying race conditions in multi-threaded environments, and static analysis tools capable of detecting concurrency bugs should be employed during the development lifecycle. For immediate mitigation by system administrators, applying vendor-provided patches that address these synchronization issues is essential. Additionally, deploying runtime application self-protection (RASP) solutions or memory corruption detection mechanisms can help identify and block exploitation attempts in real-time until permanent fixes are applied. Regular security audits focusing on concurrency patterns will also help prevent similar vulnerabilities from being introduced in future updates.
This vulnerability aligns with Common Weakness Enumeration CWE-362, which covers concurrent execution using shared resources with improper synchronization. It is closely related to CWE-415 regarding double free errors and CWE-824 about access of uninitialized memory if the race condition leads to reading stale data. In terms of attack tactics, this flaw facilitates privilege escalation as described in MITRE ATT&CK technique T1068, which involves exploitation for privilege escalation without user interaction. The lack of required user engagement places it within the category of vulnerabilities that can be exploited via automated scripts or background processes, emphasizing the need for strict input validation and robust concurrency controls at the architectural level to maintain system integrity against such sophisticated internal attacks.