CVE-2023-46759
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2023-46759 is a permission control vulnerability in Huawei's call module that allows unauthorized access to sensitive information. Successful exploitation could compromise service confidentiality by allowing attackers to bypass intended permission restrictions. This affects Huawei devices running HarmonyOS with vulnerable call module versions.
💻 Affected Systems
- Huawei smartphones and devices with HarmonyOS
📦 What is this software?
Emui by Huawei
Emui by Huawei
Emui by Huawei
Emui by Huawei
Harmonyos by Huawei
Harmonyos by Huawei
Harmonyos by Huawei
Harmonyos by Huawei
Harmonyos by Huawei
Harmonyos by Huawei
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete compromise of call-related sensitive data including call logs, contact information, and potentially call recordings, leading to privacy violations and data exfiltration.
Likely Case
Unauthorized access to call metadata and limited sensitive information, potentially enabling targeted attacks or information gathering.
If Mitigated
Minimal impact with proper access controls and network segmentation limiting exposure of vulnerable components.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires understanding of HarmonyOS permission mechanisms and likely some level of device access.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: HarmonyOS security updates released in November 2023
Vendor Advisory: https://consumer.huawei.com/en/support/bulletin/2023/11/
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Check for system updates in device Settings > System & updates > Software update. 2. Download and install available security updates. 3. Restart device after installation completes.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable unnecessary call permissions
allReview and restrict call-related app permissions to minimum required functionality
Network segmentation
allIsolate affected devices from sensitive networks and implement strict network access controls
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict access controls and monitor for unusual call module activity
- Isolate affected devices from networks containing sensitive information
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check device HarmonyOS version in Settings > About phone > HarmonyOS version and compare with Huawei security bulletinsCheck Version:
Settings > About phone > HarmonyOS versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify HarmonyOS version after update and ensure November 2023 security patches are installed📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unauthorized access attempts to call module APIs
- Permission denial logs for call-related operations
- Unusual call module activity patterns
Network Indicators:
- Unexpected network traffic from call-related services
- Attempts to access call data from unauthorized sources
SIEM Query:
source="device_logs" AND (module="call" OR permission="android.permission.CALL_PHONE") AND (action="denied" OR result="failure")🔗 References
- https://consumer.huawei.com/en/support/bulletin/2023/11/
- https://device.harmonyos.com/en/docs/security/update/security-bulletins-202311-0000001729189597
- https://consumer.huawei.com/en/support/bulletin/2023/11/
- https://device.harmonyos.com/en/docs/security/update/security-bulletins-202311-0000001729189597
