Samsung Phones: Every app has full memory access

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2048511

by itry • 14 years ago

87 49 14 years ago

forum.xda-developers.com

Any app has full memory access via /dev/exynos-mem

Largest security hole ever?

itry2• 14 years ago

Looks like on Samsung devices, every app has full r/w memory acess via /dev/exynos-mem

I wonder two things:

1) if this is Samsung only or if its an Android issue.

2) If and how this can bee used to become root. TFA says "The good news is we can easily obtain root on these devices" but doesnt say how.

thefreeman2• 14 years ago

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4928277

drivebyacct2• 14 years ago

How was this even posted? It's the exact same link as yesterday in addition to the other link about this yesterday.

Ah, I see the original has an anchor in the URL: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4928277

japaget• 14 years ago

The title on this post is clearer. I have heard of Samsung phones (and Android), but I didn't know what Exynos was so I skipped over the initial link.

JimmaDaRustla2• 14 years ago

Now all I can think of is #droidrage

mtgx• 14 years ago

Oh yeah, Microsoft's vitriolic campaign against Android. But this is not about Android per se, but about Samsung's drivers for the camera, and giving camera full access to root, because they were lazy.

mikeash3• 14 years ago

I'm conflicted. On one hand, this is definitely Samsung's fault, not Android in general. On the other hand, an OS with more rigorous requirements for OEMs could have prevented this.

berntb• 14 years ago

As an Android newbie -- how easy is it to get out kernel patches to [all these millions of users'] phones?

(No, I'm not a black hat -- I don't have a hat of any colour.)

engtech• 14 years ago

My carrier phone in Canada finally updated to Jelly Bean 4.1 last night. My dad has the same phone bought the same day and he's still on the pending list to get the update...

so, not fast?

ricardobeat3• 14 years ago

Not easy. Most carriers delay updates, sometimes by years, because of all the custom crap they layer on top, or for no reason at all.

stusmall2• 14 years ago

I currently have an S3 and this isn't the first serious exploit I've come across for it.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a serious secure phone? I don't need all the bells and whistles and don't install many apps. Mostly just email, text, and web browsing.

alexmunroe• 14 years ago

As unpopular a suggestion as this may be, Blackberry's are very secure particularly if you enable some of the more advanced security features such as secure memory and full device encryption. A lot of research has been undertaken at my University into this recently and very little progress has been made.

The obvious downside is that the App eco system is still very poor compared to both iOS and Android and the UI leaves a lot to be desired. It depends really on whether you favour security over usability.

driverdan• 14 years ago

This is only a serious exploit if you install an app that exploits it. If you only use email, SMS/text and web browsing and don't install any apps you should be fine.

If you want a more secure Android phone get Google's (currently Nexus 4). It won't have all the BS that 3rd parties add, like this.

fulafel• 14 years ago

It's a break from the sandbox so any vulnerability in an app (eg outdated WebKit, the norm on non-google devices) now compromised your whole device.

stusmall2• 14 years ago

This is just one on the list of a few I've seen. There was also the infamous remote execution of USSD codes and another major exploit via the document reader(If I remember correctly some people where hyping that as an NFC attck).

I understand bugs and exploits happen, but this proc interface and the USSD attack were just silly. I'd just like something designed inside a culture of security.

ricardobeat3• 14 years ago

A stock iPhone (non-jailbroken)? There hasn't been any widespread security hole since the early days of jailbreaking via PNG. iOS6 fixed a couple hundred security issues, almost all in webkit (those end up in Android & BB as well).

Blackberry 7 has been considered the most secure, but it's a huge step backwards from Android. We don't know about BB10 yet.

itry2• 14 years ago

If a non-jailbroken phone is secure, then how is it possible to jailbreak it?

runjake4• 14 years ago

An unjailbroken iOS device.

I would specifically recommended against the BlackBerry option others have offered. It is a poorly-coded platform (complete with an old, expoitable WebKit browser and J2ME) that is a popular hacking target (despite being practically dead in the consumer space) it still sees lots of use by lucrative targets in the corporate/govt space.

For all its power and awesomeness, I would also recommend against Android (vanilla or otherwise) if your focus is on security and data integrity.

Edit: You can downvote me, but consider the contrast in difficulty between rooting/jailbreaking iOS (and the iOS BootROM) vs. rooting/unlocking any given Android device's system and bootloader as a class example.

tarabukka3• 14 years ago

iOS has a jailbreak for every single version. Some have even used a variety of exploits to do this straight from the web. Apple have no magic up their sleeve that makes iOS 'more secure'; they are running on a normal CPU with a normal kernel. Apple users are more proactive in updating because they're nagged by the interface they're forced to use (iTunes) to update.

drzaiusapelord• 14 years ago

Why not flash CM on there? Not sure what kernel they're using for your S3, but its probably not the stock Samsung one. Even then, patches will be first from CM and months later (if ever) from the OEM & Carrier's internal politics that controls your phone.

Or if you want to spend money, a Nexus phone is your best bet. No carrier/OEM customizations and Google seems to give a shit about security and stability. This is what I have and I recommend it.

Man, I'd love to buy a Samsung Note, but Touchwiz scares me. Its a security nightmare, gaudy as all hell, slow, battery drain, and only gets updated when Samsung and T-mobile think it should get updated.

I'm also looking into Windows phone as android is becoming a nightmare of "too many cooks" and Google doesn't seem to have the ability or desire to stop this mess.

MichaelGG• 14 years ago

In the comments, someone mentions its a problem on CM too, because the problem is the Samsung driver itself - the camera works by doing direct memory access via this module, but it isn't restricted to the right memory regions.

Someone did post a fix if you're building your own: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=35541696&...

bdcravens• 14 years ago

Get as close to the OS vendor as possible. Less deviation from original intent, presumably more focus on engineering (yes, I know Nexus phones aren't made by Google, but by various vendors who also make their "own" versions), and you get updates much faster in the event of a security concern.

I have an S3 - I knew I was getting outside of the Android ecosystem to some degree when I first powered up the phone and saw the AT&T logo splash screen. Then you get into the phone and see all the cute little Samsung apps. Reminds me of buying a Windows PC :-)

You can regain some of what I described above by rooting and locking your phone down.

However, as you described your needs, an iPhone is ideal. An Android phone gives you a lot of power, but it doesn't sound like you need that much power, and for most people, security trumps customization.

sinnerswing2• 14 years ago

what do you need a "serious secure phone" for?

Android's "open".

sinnerswing2• 14 years ago

Seriously. since Android is open anyone can just patch this up and distribute it to millions of affected Android phones worldwide. There's nothing to worry about!

rprasad• 14 years ago

Use the phones that all intelligence agencies use: Blackberry.

Give a CIA tech an iPhone, Android, or WinPho, and he'll have access to all of your data (on the phone) before you've finished putting the phone down. Comparing the security on these devices to the security of a Blackberry is like comparing picket fences to the shield walls of Mordor.

Blackberry's may not be hip, but they were designed from the beginning to be secure.

tptacek• 14 years ago

No, this isn't true.

wglb• 14 years ago

Perhaps you have forgotten Willem Pinckaers, a reverse engineer for Matasano Security in California, and Vincenzo Iozzo breaking the blackberry at Pwn2Own?

chenster• 14 years ago

With so many Samsung Android phones (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Android_devices#S...) flooding out to stay competitive and get a quick win over the iOS as well as other manufacturer's Android devices, it's obvious that some of their stuffs will eventually fall through the crack as result of poor QA. I will not be too surprised to see other brand Android phones have similar security issues.

I can almost see that Android is quickly becoming the next Windows 95.

lostlogin• 14 years ago

Is anyone else finding that thread full of Google adverts for Samsung phones? It's rather funny.

Samsung Phones: Every app has full memory access

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