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One Billion Android Devices Open To Privilege Escalation
msm1267 (2804139) writes "The first deep look into the security of the Android patch installation process, specifically its Package Management Service (PMS), has revealed a weakness that puts potentially every Android device at risk for privilege escalation attacks. Researchers from Indiana University and Microsoft published a paper that describes a new set of Android vulnerabilities they call Pileup flaws, and also introduces a new scanner called SecUP that detects malicious apps already on a device lying in wait for elevated privileges. The vulnerability occurs in the way PMS handles updates to the myriad flavors of Android in circulation today. The researchers say PMS improperly vets apps on lower versions of Android that request OS or app privileges that may not exist on the older Android version, but are granted automatically once the system is updated.
The researchers said they found a half-dozen different Pileup flaws within Android's Package Management Service, and confirmed those vulnerabilities are present in all Android Open Source Project versions and more than 3,500 customized versions of Android developed by handset makers and carriers; more than one billion Android devices are likely impacted, they said." Handily enough, the original paper is not paywalled.
The researchers said they found a half-dozen different Pileup flaws within Android's Package Management Service, and confirmed those vulnerabilities are present in all Android Open Source Project versions and more than 3,500 customized versions of Android developed by handset makers and carriers; more than one billion Android devices are likely impacted, they said." Handily enough, the original paper is not paywalled.
What the summary fails to explain properly is that this vulnerability only works with permissions that are new when the device gets an OS update. Say you install an app and it asks for permission to use NFC, but your device's OS is old and doesn't support NFC (pre 4.0 I think). You install it anyway. Then you upgrade the OS and now it supports NFC. The app then gets the NFC permission without any further prompts or warning to the user.
That is certainly an issue, but not the huge gaping security flaw the summary makes it sound like. Apps can only ask for normal permissions that the OS offers, not bypass security or the sandbox. It's basically a UI issue.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
Wow, a freeby from Microsoft, how incredibly generous. Google will probably thank them for pointing it out. Isn't it nice how everybody just, *gets along*.
My ism, it's full of beliefs.
I expected better from Google.
My karma is not a Chameleon.
This depends on upgrades. Carriers, upgrade?
Hell, my wife and I are on different versions of Android, same carrier, same phone, both say they're fully up to date.
That is certainly an issue, but not the huge gaping security flaw the summary makes it sound like
A security flaw is a security flaw. Whether or not it's a "gaping hole" it still can be exploited.
For that, I sincerely thank Microsoft for so kindly pointed out that security flaw.
No matter what's the ultimate intention / agenda of Microsoft in this case, with this security flaw exposed, let us hope that Google can do something to plug it, and make those "Billion Android Devices" just a little bit more safer.
Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
A Microsoft research into Android would be highly neutral and non-biased as Microsoft has no direct competition with Android.
Android's firmware loader != Linux. Sorry to burst your bubble.
Luckily for most Android users Android is almost never updated, so in real life there's no real vulnerability.
"For that, I sincerely thank Microsoft for so kindly pointed out that security flaw."
"Kindly"? Are you serious? There was nothing "kind" about it. It's anti-Android PR for Microsoft. Why the hell do you think Microsoft was involved with looking into it in the first place? The goodness of their hearts? Puh-leeeeeze.
You'll find the scanner titled "Secure Update Scanner" in the Play store.
Old version of Android may be susceptible to hijacking by a malicious app. Such a malicious app can only get onto the device by direct user action ..
Well, no /effective/ competition anyway.
Probably the same reason google does the same thing, to analyse how their competitors are doing. This method of exposure of vulnerabilities is what google want (as was demonstrated by them using the same method when they found vulnerabilities in MS products). They should be kindly thanked as they are following the procedure that Google want people to follow, their motivation is irrelevant,.
There are one billion Android devices? That's awesome!
Coder's Stone: The programming language quick ref for iPad
Think of all the help Microsoft could get spotting security flaws if Google and Stanford could look through the Windows source whenever they chose.
Now let's talk about that last patch batch where IE couldn't even safely display a JPEG in any currently supported version on any version of Windows.
Help stamp out iliturcy.
I'm pretty sure this story calls for a little Bible verse, from the book of Matthew.
Now brothers and sisters, please join me in a song from page 126 of your hymnal, "Open My Eyes That I Might See".
You are welcome on my lawn.
What are you talking about? A fake OS update? Does that have anything at all to do anything? A fake update wouldn't add any new system capabilities, so apps wouldn't gain any new capabilities.
Did you read the comment you replied to? Or TFA, or anything to get a clue what that topic is?
"Kindly"? Are you serious? There was nothing "kind" about it. It's anti-Android PR for Microsoft. Why the hell do you think Microsoft was involved with looking into it in the first place? The goodness of their hearts? Puh-leeeeeze.
What do you think of IE vulnerabilities found by Googlers ?
http://www.google.com/about/ap...
And I still don't give a crap.
Quit being alarmist--the exploit only works once every 28 days.
That there are 3,500 customized versions of Android developed by handset makers and carriers is really a news story unto itself.
Considering the amount of money that Microsoft makes in patent licensing fees from Android I don't know how they could have any financial reason to want Android to go away. At the moment I suspect that Microsoft makes more money from Android than it does Windows Phone.
Article X: The powers not delegated... by the Constitution...are reserved...to the people
"What do you think of IE vulnerabilities found by Googlers ?"
I wasn't saying Microsoft is any worse. Just that they weren't doing it for the sake of charity.
"For that, I sincerely thank Microsoft for so kindly pointed out that security flaw."
"Kindly"? Are you serious? There was nothing "kind" about it. It's anti-Android PR for Microsoft. Why the hell do you think Microsoft was involved with looking into it in the first place? The goodness of their hearts? Puh-leeeeeze.
That was a big one. You're lucky the mods nearly got it full force too. Next time you hear someone yell "duck" don't stand there looking for one just hit the deck or the Woosh may be fatal.
For years here on /., all you heard was "Linux = Secure, Windows != Secure", well... explain what's been going on for nearly a decade Penguins, on your 'invulnerable Linux' once it's the most used OS there is on a given computing platform"
Sure.
One simple fact: Android now outnumbers Windows in both sales and installed base, yet has several orders of magnitude less malware.
Vulnerabilities are patched rapidly and malicious apps are weeded out of the Play store. Even social engineered malware which DOES get installed by the user can be simply removed because NOT ONE instace of malware breaching its sandbox has ever been detected.
"Considering the amount of money that Microsoft makes in patent licensing fees from Android I don't know how they could have any financial reason to want Android to go away. At the moment I suspect that Microsoft makes more money from Android than it does Windows Phone."
That last bit is exactly why they want Android to go away. They don't make nearly as much money on Android as they'd make if all those same phones were Windows. Every Windows phone they can sell in place of an Android phone is more money in their pockets.
Sure, they'll make money off of Android where they can. But they'd rather it simply wasn't there.
Lemme guess. You think key-loggers are vulnerabilities Trucrypt should patch too, right?
am I going to open an xterm and type call_accept on a nice debian system.
Privilege escalation? That phrase, I don't think it means what you think it means.
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yes, key-loggers are vulnerabilities.
As long as the research is valid and the conclusions correctly presented (which, in this case, they do not seem to have been), I don't care for the motive.
Shachar
In that it still doesnt allow line-item veto of app priveleges.
This should be the most basic feature.
Certainly kinder than discreetly e-mailing their findings to every shady source of malware they know of. With so many years of experience, I'm sure they have a list.
Er yes, but this is the company that insists everyone else does responsible disclosure and has threatened security researchers who don't. I sure hope the next people to find a major, wormable Microsoft vulnerability remember about this generosity.
That would be true if the security flaw could be exploited. But apparently, it would appear that this flaw is mostly theoretical. This article is MS funded anti-Android FUD.
So sweet of Verizon to not provide updates on a timely basis, then, which prevents this kind of attack from ever causing problems.
So I turn to CyanogenMod or similar, which I'm sure will have patched this by the time there's another upgrade.
Design for Use, not Construction!
As long as the research is valid and the conclusions correctly presented (which, in this case, they do not seem to have been), I don't care for the motive.
No argument. The research seems decent and worthwhile. The tone of the press release is what's eye-rollingly ridiculous. This is a minor security UI deficiency, but they're selling it as a "privilege escalation", which is normally understood to mean the ability to break out of the sandbox at least, and usually implies root access.
Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
Using Privacy Guard, I can see that Facebook has attempted to read my contact list 94 times. These attempts were blocked.
Their research dollar is better spent looking at the security of products they can fix. That is their job. When they can't even safely display a photo in their own products, their opinion on other people's product security is not qualified. They are not security subject matter experts.
Help stamp out iliturcy.
Don't let these bullshitters get to you. Notice that all the Google flaws are accompanied by CVE numbers and a Microsoft, or other vendor, bulletin. This is for two reasons; firstly these are real flaws (Microsoft is including applications which openly say they use a particular feature but only get it added during an upgrade - in other words things which can't possibly be seen as security vulnerabilities) and secondly Google first took them to Microsoft before releasing them.
What Microsoft has done by publishing a flaw before Google has fixed it is precisely what Microsoft is always telling us is wrong. When they start overblowing it, I'm sorry to say but they are going far beyond what Google has done. It is outrageous to compare the two companies.
So... what's your stance on all those vulnerabilities published by Google on Microsoft's applications?
[and jesus, I can't believe I'm "defending" Microsoft]
You might want to send a note to Google too, for all their papers on Windows/IE vulnerabilities.