CVE-2018-14994 Missing authorization in n/a
A pre-installed app on Essential Phones allows any third-party app to trigger a factory reset without permissions, causing data loss.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2018-14994?
CVE-2018-14994 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in n/a, published on 25 Apr 2019. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
The Essential Phone Android device with a build fingerprint of essential/mata/mata:8.1.0/OPM1.180104.166/297:user/release-keys contains a pre-installed platform app with a package name of com.ts.android.hiddenmenu (versionName=1.0, platformBuildVersionName=8.1.0) that contains an exported activity app component named com.ts.android.hiddenmenu.rtn.RTNResetActivity that allows any app co-located on the device to programmatically initiate a factory reset. In addition, the app initiating the factory reset does not require any permissions. A factory reset will remove all user data and apps from the device. This will result in the loss of any data that have not been backed up or synced externally. The capability to perform a factory reset is not directly available to third-party apps (those that the user installs themselves with the exception of enabled Mobile Device Management (MDM) apps), although this capability can be obtained by leveraging an unprotected app component of a pre-installed platform app.
Weakness: CWE-20
Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-14994?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Essential Phone Firmware.
How do I fix CVE-2018-14994?
No fix has been published for CVE-2018-14994 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Upgrade, and check permissions on every request on the server, not only in the interface. More about Missing authorization.
Is CVE-2018-14994 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-14994 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-gmxx-w5hg-p98r.