CVE-2023-52116
📋 TL;DR
This CVE describes a permission management vulnerability in Huawei's multi-screen interaction module that could allow unauthorized access or privilege escalation. Successful exploitation may cause service exceptions on affected devices. This affects Huawei devices running HarmonyOS with the vulnerable multi-screen interaction feature.
💻 Affected Systems
- Huawei smartphones
- Huawei tablets
- Huawei smart devices with multi-screen interaction
📦 What is this software?
Emui by Huawei
Emui by Huawei
Emui by Huawei
Harmonyos by Huawei
Harmonyos by Huawei
Harmonyos by Huawei
Harmonyos by Huawei
Harmonyos by Huawei
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
An attacker could gain elevated privileges, disrupt multi-screen services, or potentially execute arbitrary code leading to device compromise.
Likely Case
Service disruption of multi-screen functionality, potentially affecting screen mirroring, file sharing, and device coordination features.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper access controls and network segmentation in place.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation likely requires some level of access to the device or local network. No public exploit code has been disclosed.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: HarmonyOS security updates from January 2024
Vendor Advisory: https://consumer.huawei.com/en/support/bulletin/2024/1/
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Check for system updates in device Settings. 2. Install the latest HarmonyOS security update. 3. Restart the device after installation completes.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Multi-Screen Interaction
allTemporarily disable the vulnerable feature until patching is possible
Network Segmentation
allIsolate affected devices from untrusted networks
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Disable multi-screen interaction feature in device settings
- Implement strict network access controls and isolate affected devices
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check HarmonyOS version in Settings > About phone > HarmonyOS version. If version is prior to January 2024 security updates, device is vulnerable.Check Version:
Settings > About phone > HarmonyOS versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify HarmonyOS version shows January 2024 or later security patch level in Settings > About phone.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unexpected permission requests in multi-screen module
- Service exceptions in multi-screen interaction logs
- Unauthorized access attempts to multi-screen services
Network Indicators:
- Unusual multi-screen protocol traffic
- Unexpected device pairing attempts
SIEM Query:
Search for 'multi-screen interaction' service failures or permission escalation events in device logs🔗 References
- https://consumer.huawei.com/en/support/bulletin/2024/1/
- https://device.harmonyos.com/en/docs/security/update/security-bulletins-202401-0000001799925977
- https://consumer.huawei.com/en/support/bulletin/2024/1/
- https://device.harmonyos.com/en/docs/security/update/security-bulletins-202401-0000001799925977
