WIBattack – SIM Card Browser Bug let Hackers Take Control Over Mobile Phones to Make Calls & SMS

The WIBattack vulnerability impacts hundreds of millions of telecom subscribers worldwide. The vulnerability comes from the sim card and it doesn’t depend on the mobile phone or the operating system.

The vulnerability in WIB sim browser let hackers take control of the victim machine and perform various malicious functions such as sending SMS, make a phone call, get victim’s location, launch other browsers (e.g WAP browser), get victim’s IMEI.

According to Ginno Security Lab, the vulnerability was identified in 2015 and this is the first time it has been published online.

We reported similar kind of the vulnerability earlier dubbed Simjacker, according to AdaptiveMobile Security, the vulnerability actively exploited any private company who works for the government to monitor the individuals.

WIBAttack Scenario

The Wireless Internet Browser(WIB) is the leading SIM card based browser that has menu stored in the SIM and it can be managed and updated using Over The Air (OTA) services.

The attack starts with an SMS from attacker mobile, attackers send malicious OTA SMS that contains WIB commands to the victim phone number.

Once the victim receives the OTA SMS it forwards the command to WIB browser in victim’s Simcard. WIB responds to the command and sends PROACTIVE COMMAND to victim mobile phones, such as initiating a call, send SMS and other info.

Following the command from SIM card, an attacker can send a call to any phone number, send SMS to any number and even can track the geo-location.

Researchers published a demo that illustrates, how an attacker gain control over the phone through an SMS.

The WIBattack was already reported by researchers to the GSM Association. Researchers recommend testing SIM cards with SIMtester to determine the vulnerabilities in WIB browser. Also, they are in the process of developing a SIM scanning device that runs on android devices.

Here you can find the complete report including the technical details published by Ginno Security Lab.

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