CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2018-14987 — Mxq Project Mxq Tv Box Firmware security vulnerability

High CVSS 7.1

The MXQ TV Box 4.4.2 Android device with a build fingerprint of MBX/m201_N/m201_N:4.4.2/KOT49H/20160106:user/test-keys contains the Android framework with a package name of android (versionCode=19, versionName=4.4.2-20170213) that dynamically registers a broadcast receiver app component named com.android.server.MasterClearReceiver instead of statically registering it in the AndroidManifest.xml file of the core Android package, as done in Android Open Source Project (AOSP) code for Android 4.4.2. The dynamic-registration of the MasterClearReceiver broadcast receiver app component is not protected with the android.permission.MASTER_CLEAR permission during registration, so any app co-located on the device, even those without any permissions, can programmatically initiate a factory reset of the device. A factory reset will remove all user data and apps from the device. This will result in the loss of any data that have not been backed up or synced externally. The capability to perform a factory reset is not directly available to third-party apps (those that the user installs themselves with the exception of enabled Mobile Device Management (MDM) apps), although this capability can be…

Severity
High
CVSS
7.1 (3.0)
Published
2018-12-28
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
operating-system
Weaknesses
CWE-732

Affected products

  • mxq_project / mxq_tv_box_firmware / 4.4.2

Matched remediation archetype

Privilege escalation and unsafe privilege management

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Check exposure

  • Map service accounts, operating-system identities, roles, capabilities, impersonation, set-user transitions, and administrative helper paths.
  • Determine whether untrusted users or lower-privilege processes can reach the affected transition or modify inputs it trusts.
  • Review file, socket, registry, device, job, container, and cloud-role permissions used before and after privilege changes.

Remediate safely

  • Apply the supported fix and redesign privileged operations as a minimal, authenticated, allowlisted interface.
  • Drop privileges before processing untrusted input, verify the drop succeeds, and remove unnecessary roles, capabilities, and write permissions.
  • Validate ownership and permissions at time of use and add explicit lower-to-higher privilege boundary tests.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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