Android Security Bypass Vulnerability (Dec 6, 2013)

A new security bypass vulnerability has been identified in Android 4.3 and prior versions. An attacker may entice the target to install a malicious application and remove all existing device locks activated by the target user at a defined time. The new Android version 4.4 (KitKat) has fixed this issue.

More specifically, this vulnerability is caused by a design error on com.android.settings.ChooseLockGeneric class. This class is used to allow the user to modify the type of lock mechanism. The vulnerable code in function updateUnlockMethodAndFinish of this class clears all the existing locks when the supplied password type for the function is identified as type PASSWORD_QUALITY_UNSPECIFIED. A sample of the malicious application can have the following code sequence:

Dell SonicWALL Threat team has researched this vulnerability and released the following signature to protect their customers:

• SPY:4771 Malformed-File apk.OT.1

This vulnerability is identified by CVE as CVE-2013-6271.

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The SonicWall Capture Labs Threat Research Team gathers, analyzes and vets cross-vector threat information from the SonicWall Capture Threat network, consisting of global devices and resources, including more than 1 million security sensors in nearly 200 countries and territories. The research team identifies, analyzes, and mitigates critical vulnerabilities and malware daily through in-depth research, which drives protection for all SonicWall customers. In addition to safeguarding networks globally, the research team supports the larger threat intelligence community by releasing weekly deep technical analyses of the most critical threats to small businesses, providing critical knowledge that defenders need to protect their networks.