Local app-presence disclosure via ContextImpl side channel
Published Mar 30, 2022 · Updated Aug 4, 2024
Information disclosure in Android 12L ContextImpl allows local users to determine whether another app is installed without query permission. ContextImpl exposes an observable discrepancy when an unprivileged app probes for another package, bypassing package-visibility filtering that normally withholds unapproved installation data. Exploitation requires code execution as a local app but needs no additional privileges or user interaction; the disclosed consequence is limited to app-presence information.
Summary
What happened
Information disclosure in Android 12L ContextImpl allows local users to determine whether another app is installed without query permission. ContextImpl exposes an observable discrepancy when an unprivileged app probes for another package, bypassing package-visibility filtering that normally withholds unapproved installation data. Exploitation requires code execution as a local app but needs no additional privileges or user interaction; the disclosed consequence is limited to app-presence information.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2021-39754
- Published
- Mar 30, 2022
- Updated
- Aug 4, 2024
- Vendor
- Google Cloud
- Product
- Android
- Classifications
- CWE-203, T1418
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Mar 30, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 4, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
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- Affected versionversion=Android-12L
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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