CVE-2023-0116
📋 TL;DR
This CVE describes an authentication bypass vulnerability in Huawei's reminder module where broadcasts can be processed without proper authentication. Successful exploitation could allow attackers to disrupt reminder functionality, affecting system availability. This affects Huawei consumer devices running vulnerable software versions.
💻 Affected Systems
- Huawei consumer devices with reminder functionality
📦 What is this software?
Emui by Huawei
Emui by Huawei
Emui by Huawei
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete disruption of reminder functionality leading to denial of service for reminder-dependent applications and potential system instability.
Likely Case
Local attackers or malicious apps could send crafted broadcasts to interfere with reminder operations, causing missed notifications or system resource consumption.
If Mitigated
With proper network segmentation and app sandboxing, impact would be limited to reminder functionality only.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires sending crafted broadcasts to the vulnerable reminder module; no authentication needed per CWE-306 description.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Check Huawei security bulletins for specific patched versions
Vendor Advisory: https://consumer.huawei.com/en/support/bulletin/2023/5/
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Check Huawei security bulletin for affected device models and versions. 2. Apply latest security updates via Settings > System & updates > Software update. 3. Restart device after update installation.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable unnecessary broadcast receivers
androidLimit which apps can receive system broadcasts to reduce attack surface
adb shell cmd appops set <package_name> SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW deny
Restrict app permissions
allReview and restrict app permissions, especially for apps requesting broadcast-related permissions
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement network segmentation to isolate vulnerable devices from untrusted networks
- Use mobile device management (MDM) solutions to restrict app installations and monitor for suspicious broadcast activity
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check device software version against Huawei's security bulletin for affected versionsCheck Version:
Settings > About phone > Software information > Build numberVerify Fix Applied:
Verify device is running a version later than those listed in Huawei's security bulletin as vulnerable📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual broadcast intents to reminder services
- Multiple failed reminder operations
- Unexpected system service restarts
Network Indicators:
- Unusual local broadcast traffic patterns
- Excessive inter-process communication to reminder services
SIEM Query:
process:reminder AND (event:authentication_failed OR event:broadcast_received) | count by source_ip