Mtower: Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime
CVE-2022-35858 is a high-severity missing release of memory after effective lifetime vulnerability in Mtower from Samsung, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 out of 10. It can be exploited with local access to the system by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. Affected Mtower versions: 0.3.0. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.4% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Check which version of Mtower you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
Affected products and versions
Version data comes from NVD's product matching. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- LocalThe attacker needs local access or must trick a user into running something.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Privileges required
- LowA basic user account is enough.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality
- HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
- Integrity
- HighData or code can be modified at will.
- Availability
- HighThe component can be taken down completely.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by NVD.
Official description
The TEE_PopulateTransientObject and __utee_from_attr functions in Samsung mTower 0.3.0 allow a trusted application to trigger a memory overwrite, denial of service, and information disclosure by invoking the function TEE_PopulateTransientObject with a large number in the parameter attrCount.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime
The product does not sufficiently track and release allocated memory after it has been used, making the memory unavailable for reallocation and reuse.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Choose a language or tool that provides automatic memory management, or makes manual memory management less error-prone. For example, glibc in Linux provides protection against free of invalid pointers. When using Xcode to target OS X or iOS, enable automatic reference counting (ARC). To help correctly and consistently manage memory when programming in C++, consider using a smart pointer class such as std
- Use an abstraction library to abstract away risky APIs. Not a complete solution.
- Consider using the Boehm-Demers-Weiser garbage collector (bdwgc), which can help avoid leaks.
More Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime vulnerabilities (CWE-401)
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Third-party and government advisories
- github.com/Samsung/mTower/issues/71Third Party Advisory
Technical write-ups (may include proof of concept)
- github.com/Samsung/mTower/blob/18f4b592a8a973ce5972f4e2658ea0f6e3686284/tee/lib/libutee/tee_api_objects.c#L283Exploit, Third Party Advisory
Other vulnerabilities in Mtower
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
Recent Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime vulnerabilities
- 7.1 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.1 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
Spotted an error? Tell us.