Friday, March 29, 2024

WiFi Broadcasts in All Version of Android OS Leaking Sensitive Data Including IP Addresses, BSSID, WiFi Network Name

WiFi Broadcasts in Android OS Leaking sensitive data from a user’s Android device and the details about all the application that running on the user’s device.

All the version of Android running devices is affected by this vulnerability including  Amazon’s FireOS for the Kindle.

It leaks Sensitive information such as WiFi network name, BSSID, local IP addresses, DNS server information and the MAC address.

Other than this, attackers need some extra permission to access the rest of the information in the vulnerable Android devices.

Since the MAC address unique for every Android mobile and its tied to hardware thus helps to track any Android device.

Apart from this, network name and BSSID can be used to geolocate users via a lookup against a database of BSSID such as WiGLE or SkyHook.

WiFi Broadcasts Vulnerability Analysis

Android using service called  “Intents” for interprocess communication, also in order to send a message by application or OS that can be listed by other applications  “Intent” is mainly used by broadcast.

Also, it restricts who is allowed to read such messages or mask sensitive data. along with this Another security mechanism present in the Android is permissions that used to protect the privacy of users.

There are 2 intents used by Android OS broadcasts about WiFi connection and the WiFi network interface.

According to nightwatch cybersecurity, on Android versions 6.0 and later, the real MAC address of the device is no longer available via APIs and will always return the address “02:00:00:00:00:00”. However, an application listening for system broadcasts does not need these permissions thus allowing this information to be captured without the knowledge of the user and the real MAC address being captured even on Android 6 or higher.

In this behavior has been confirmed in multiple types of hardware and Android versions. For Android device users, you can replicate these issues as follows:

  1. Install the “Internal Broadcasts Monitor” application developed by Vilius Kraujutis from Google Play.
  2.  Open the application and tap “Start” to monitor broadcasts.
  3.  Observe system broadcasts, specifically “android.net.wifi.STATE_CHANGE” and “android.net.wifi.p2p.THIS_DEVICE_CHANGED”.

This is has been reported to Google and they fixed the vulnerability in Android P / 9. The vendor does not plan to fix prior versions of Android. Users are encouraged to upgrade to Android P / 9 or later.

References

Android ID # 77286245
CVE ID: CVE-2018-9489
Google Bug # 77236217
GitHub: Internal Broadcasts Monitor

Website

Latest articles

Beware Of Weaponized Air Force invitation PDF Targeting Indian Defense And Energy Sectors

EclecticIQ cybersecurity researchers have uncovered a cyberespionage operation dubbed "Operation FlightNight" targeting Indian government...

WarzoneRAT Returns Post FBI Seizure: Utilizing LNK & HTA File

The notorious WarzoneRAT malware has made a comeback, despite the FBI's recent efforts to...

Google Revealed Kernel Address Sanitizer To Harden Android Firmware And Beyond

Android devices are popular among hackers due to the platform’s extensive acceptance and open-source...

Compromised SaaS Supply Chain Apps: 97% of Organizations at Risk of Cyber Attacks

Businesses increasingly rely on Software as a Service (SaaS) applications to drive efficiency, innovation,...

IT and security Leaders Feel Ill-Equipped to Handle Emerging Threats: New Survey

A comprehensive survey conducted by Keeper Security, in partnership with TrendCandy Research, has shed...

How to Analyse .NET Malware? – Reverse Engineering Snake Keylogger

Utilizing sandbox analysis for behavioral, network, and process examination provides a foundation for reverse...

GoPlus’s Latest Report Highlights How Blockchain Communities Are Leveraging Critical API Security Data To Mitigate Web3 Threats

GoPlus Labs, the leading Web3 security infrastructure provider, has unveiled a groundbreaking report highlighting...
Balaji
Balaji
BALAJI is an Ex-Security Researcher (Threat Research Labs) at Comodo Cybersecurity. Editor-in-Chief & Co-Founder - Cyber Security News & GBHackers On Security.

Mitigating Vulnerability Types & 0-day Threats

Mitigating Vulnerability & 0-day Threats

Alert Fatigue that helps no one as security teams need to triage 100s of vulnerabilities.

  • The problem of vulnerability fatigue today
  • Difference between CVSS-specific vulnerability vs risk-based vulnerability
  • Evaluating vulnerabilities based on the business impact/risk
  • Automation to reduce alert fatigue and enhance security posture significantly

Related Articles