Data exposure via SD update image swap
Published Nov 9, 2022 · Updated May 1, 2025
An SD upgrade race in HarmonyOS and EMUI allows physically proximate attackers to expose device data through a crafted USB update. The recovery process verifies an update image, rereads it from external media, and then uses replacement bytes without confirming that the verified and consumed content is identical. Exploitation requires booting or forcing a device into eRecovery and controlling its USB mass-storage reads; HarmonyOS 2.0 and 2.1 and EMUI 11.0.1, 12.0.0, and 12.0.1 are affected.
Summary
What happened
An SD upgrade race in HarmonyOS and EMUI allows physically proximate attackers to expose device data through a crafted USB update. The recovery process verifies an update image, rereads it from external media, and then uses replacement bytes without confirming that the verified and consumed content is identical. Exploitation requires booting or forcing a device into eRecovery and controlling its USB mass-storage reads; HarmonyOS 2.0 and 2.1 and EMUI 11.0.1, 12.0.0, and 12.0.1 are affected.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2022-44563
- Published
- Nov 9, 2022
- Updated
- May 1, 2025
- Vendor
- Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
- Product
- HarmonyOS
- Classifications
- CWE-362
- Attack vector
- physical
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Nov 9, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 1, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=2.0
- Affected versionversion=2.1
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- TASZK USB mass-storage emulation proof of conceptproof of concept · demonstrated
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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