Samsung Devices Face JSON Injection Vulnerability Concerns
/ 3 min read
Quick take - A newly identified JSON injection vulnerability in Samsung devices, particularly affecting the Smart Hub mobile app, poses significant security risks by allowing potential remote code execution due to inadequate validation of JSON payloads, highlighting broader concerns regarding the security of Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
Fast Facts
- A newly discovered JSON injection vulnerability (CVE-2018-3879) in Samsung devices poses significant security risks, particularly affecting the Samsung Smart Hub mobile app.
- The vulnerability allows for a potential attack chain leading to remote code execution with root privileges, starting from JSON injection to SQL injection and ultimately causing a buffer overflow.
- The issue arises from insufficient sanitization of JSON parameters and the use of the json-c library, which permits arbitrary field injection.
- This vulnerability has a critical CVSS rating of 9.9, highlighting the severe threat it poses, especially as smart devices become more integrated into daily life.
- The report emphasizes the need for improved security measures and thorough understanding of JSON parsing to prevent such vulnerabilities in modern applications.
Security Concerns Over JSON Injection Vulnerability in Samsung Devices
A recently discovered JSON injection vulnerability in Samsung devices has raised significant security concerns. This vulnerability, identified as CVE-2018-3879, illustrates the risks associated with application programming interfaces (APIs) that fail to adequately validate JSON payloads. The vulnerability enables a potential attack chain that can lead to remote code execution with root privileges.
Affected Devices and Mechanism
It particularly affects the Samsung Smart Hub mobile app, which is designed to remotely control connected devices, including smart cameras. The underlying issue stems from insufficient sanitization of parameters within the JSON body. This is compounded by the use of the json-c library, which permits the injection of arbitrary fields. This oversight can facilitate a malicious POST request that modifies the hub’s credentials, potentially resulting in SQL injection and subsequent remote code execution.
The attack chain associated with this vulnerability encompasses multiple stages. It starts with JSON injection, leads to SQL injection, and ultimately results in a buffer overflow. When combined with another vulnerability, CVE-2018-3880, it has earned a critical CVSS rating of 9.9, underscoring the severity of the threat.
Broader Implications and Security Measures
The broader implications of this vulnerability highlight the increasing prevalence of “smart” devices within the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem. These devices frequently operate in constrained environments utilizing embedded Linux. As these devices become more integrated into daily life, the importance of robust security measures cannot be overstated.
Additionally, systemic issues within JSON parsing contribute to security vulnerabilities. Inconsistencies among different JSON parsers can arise from varying interpretations of the JSON RFC. This leaves certain topics—such as duplicate keys and number representation—ambiguous. Such ambiguities can lead to key collision problems when parsers inconsistently handle special characters or comments, creating exploitable gaps for attackers.
The report emphasizes that server-side JSON injection occurs when untrusted data is not properly sanitized. This allows attackers to manipulate application behavior and circumvent input validation. A thorough understanding of the programming languages and JSON parsing methods utilized in APIs is essential for identifying and mitigating such vulnerabilities. The vulnerability in Samsung’s Smart Hub serves as a critical case study, highlighting the need for enhanced scrutiny in how JSON objects are processed to bolster security across modern applications.
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