# CVE-2018-16272: Missing authorization in n/a

> An unprivileged process can fully control the Wi-Fi interface on Samsung Galaxy Gear devices due to missing D-Bus security policies.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 22 Jan 2020
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-fhp7-78j6-88pw

## What is CVE-2018-16272?

CVE-2018-16272 is a critical missing authorization vulnerability in n/a, published on 22 Jan 2020. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The wpa_supplicant system service in Samsung Galaxy Gear series allows an unprivileged process to fully control the Wi-Fi interface, due to the lack of its D-Bus security policy configurations. This affects Tizen-based firmwares including Samsung Galaxy Gear series before build RE2.

Weakness: CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-16272?

It affects 10 products.


Products: Samsung Galaxy Gear Firmware, Samsung Gear 2 Firmware, Samsung Gear Fit 2 Firmware, Samsung Gear Fit 2 Pro Firmware, Samsung Gear Fit Firmware, Samsung Gear Live Firmware, Samsung Gear S2 Firmware, Samsung Gear S3 Firmware, Samsung Gear S Firmware, Samsung Gear Sport Firmware.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-16272?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-16272 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-16272 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-16272 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2018-16269](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-16269/): Information disclosure in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2018-16270](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-16270/): Privilege escalation in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2018-16271](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-16271/): Missing authorization in n/a (medium 6.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-16272 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-16272 is a critical missing authorization vulnerability in n/a, published on 22 Jan 2020. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-16272 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-16272/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-16272/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-16272
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-16272
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-16272

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-16272/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.