CVE-2021-41848: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-x838-28hj-38c5
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CVSS 7.8
CWE-287
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-41848 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.8) security vulnerability vulnerability (CWE-287: Improper Authentication) affecting Software libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The weakness occurs when when an actor claims to have a given identity, the product does not prove or insufficiently proves that the claim is correct.. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2021-41848 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-41848
GHSA Identifier GHSA-x838-28hj-38c5
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.8
CWE Classification CWE-287: Improper Authentication
Affected Product Software
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.8

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Local (AV:L)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required Low (PR:L)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2021-41848

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Software dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

mvn dependency:tree

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2021-41848, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Software in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than the patched release), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-287: Improper Authentication, where when an actor claims to have a given identity, the product does not prove or insufficiently proves that the claim is correct. In Software, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

An issue was discovered in Luna Simo PPR1.180610.011/202001031830. It mishandles software updates such that local third-party apps can provide a spoofed software update file that contains an arbitrary shell script and arbitrary ARM binary, where both will be executed as the root user with an SELinux domain named osi. To exploit this vulnerability, a local third-party app needs to have write access to external storage to write the spoofed update at the expected path. The vulnerable system binary (i.e., /system/bin/osi_bin) does not perform any authentication of the update file beyond ensuring that it is encrypted with an AES key (that is hard-coded in the vulnerable system binary). Processes executing with the osi SELinux domain can programmatically perform the following actions: install apps, grant runtime permissions to apps (including permissions with protection levels of dangerous and development), access extensive Personally Identifiable Information (PII) using the programmatically grant permissions, uninstall apps, set the default launcher app to a malicious launcher app that spoofs other apps, set a network proxy to intercept network traffic, unload kernel modules, set the default keyboard to a keyboard that has keylogging functionality, examine notification contents, send text messages, and more. The spoofed update can optionally contain an arbitrary ARM binary that will be locally stored in internal storage and executed at system startup to achieve persistent code execution as the root user with the osi SELinux domain. This ARM binary will continue to execute at startup even if the app that provided the spoofed update is uninstalled.

References

NVD — CVE-2021-41848 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-41848
athack.com/session-details/401 WEB
https://athack.com/session-details/401
simowireless.com WEB
https://simowireless.com
www.kryptowire.com/android-firmware-20... WEB
https://www.kryptowire.com/android-firmware-2022
www.kryptowire.com/blog/vsim-vulnerabi... WEB
https://www.kryptowire.com/blog/vsim-vulnerability-within-simo-android-phones-exposed

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-41848?
CVE-2021-41848 is a security vulnerability in Software classified as a security vulnerability vulnerability under CWE-287: Improper Authentication.
Which Software versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches.
What version fixes CVE-2021-41848?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-41848?
CVE-2021-41848 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2021-41848?
CVE-2021-41848 is classified under CWE-287: Improper Authentication (When an actor claims to have a given identity, the product does not prove or insufficiently proves that the claim is correct.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2021-41848?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-x838-28hj-38c5",
  "modified" : "2022-03-24T00:00:53Z",
  "published" : "2022-03-13T00:00:55Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-41848" ],
  "details" : "An issue was discovered in Luna Simo PPR1.180610.011/202001031830. It mishandles software updates such that local third-party apps can provide a spoofed software update file that contains an arbitrary shell script and arbitrary ARM binary, where both will be executed as the root user with an SELinux domain named osi. To exploit this vulnerability, a local third-party app needs to have write access to external storage to write the spoofed update at the expected path. The vulnerable system binary (i.e., /system/bin/osi_bin) does not perform any authentication of the update file beyond ensuring that it is encrypted with an AES key (that is hard-coded in the vulnerable system binary). Processes executing with the osi SELinux domain can programmatically perform the following actions: install apps, grant runtime permissions to apps (including permissions with protection levels of dangerous and development), access extensive Personally Identifiable Information (PII) using the programmatically grant permissions, uninstall apps, set the default launcher app to a malicious launcher app that spoofs other apps, set a network proxy to intercept network traffic, unload kernel modules, set the default keyboard to a keyboard that has keylogging functionality, examine notification contents, send text messages, and more. The spoofed update can optionally contain an arbitrary ARM binary that will be locally stored in internal storage and executed at system startup to achieve persistent code execution as the root user with the osi SELinux domain. This ARM binary will continue to execute at startup even if the app that provided the spoofed update is uninstalled.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-41848"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://athack.com/session-details/401"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://simowireless.com"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.kryptowire.com/android-firmware-2022"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.kryptowire.com/blog/vsim-vulnerability-within-simo-android-phones-exposed"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-287" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2022-03-11T23:15:00Z"
  }
}