CVE-2022-22292 - Unprotected Dynamic Receiver in Samsung Telecom – What You Need to Know

Summary:  
CVE-2022-22292 exposes a critical vulnerability within Samsung’s Telecom app on Android devices, seen before the SMR Feb-2022 Release 1 patch. This flaw allows any installed untrusted app to take advantage of an unprotected dynamic broadcast receiver, launching arbitrary activities in the context of the Telecom system app. It can result in privilege escalation and serious security risks.

1. Understanding the Vulnerability

Android apps can register broadcast receivers both statically (in the manifest) and dynamically (at runtime in code). Proper security involves restricting which apps can talk to sensitive receivers using permissions. If a receiver is "exported" without protection, any app can send broadcasts to it.

In the case of CVE-2022-22292:  
Samsung’s Telecom app had a dynamic receiver that was not properly protected. Malicious apps could send specially crafted intents to this receiver, making the Telecom app perform actions – such as launching arbitrary Activities – with Telecom’s system privileges.

Here’s a simplified version to illustrate the issue

// Telecom app registers a dynamic broadcast receiver
registerReceiver(new BroadcastReceiver() {
    @Override
    public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
        // Vulnerable: Launches activity using intent from sender
        Intent newIntent = intent.getParcelableExtra("activityIntent");
        context.startActivity(newIntent);
    }
}, new IntentFilter("com.samsung.telecom.LAUNCH_ACTIVITY"));

Problem:

Any app on the affected Samsung device could send a broadcast like this

Intent exploitIntent = new Intent("com.samsung.telecom.LAUNCH_ACTIVITY");
Intent maliciousIntent = new Intent(context, YourMaliciousActivity.class);
exploitIntent.putExtra("activityIntent", maliciousIntent);

context.sendBroadcast(exploitIntent);

The malicious app would replace YourMaliciousActivity.class with any target – potentially their own or sensitive system activities. Because Samsung Telecom is a system app, the launched activity runs with more privileges than the attacker should possess.

4. The Real-World Impact

- Local exploitation: An attacker must get the app onto the device, but this is feasible via malicious apps or insider threats.

No user interaction needed: Exploitation is silent, invisible to the owner.

- Device compromise: It’s possible to leverage this for serious privilege escalation or bypass key security boundaries.

6. References

- Samsung Mobile Security Advisory (CVE-2022-22292)
- NVD - CVE-2022-22292
- Understanding Android Broadcast Receivers

Always apply security updates from your device maker as soon as possible.

- Developers: Never accept untrusted input to critical components, especially those running with system privileges.

Users: Be wary of installing apps from unknown sources.

CVE-2022-22292 is a reminder that a single careless receiver can open the door to the whole system. Stay patched, stay safe!


*If you want to check if your device is vulnerable, make sure it is up to date with Samsung’s latest monthly security patches, especially anything released after February 2022.*

Timeline

Published on: 02/11/2022 18:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 02/18/2022 20:47:00 UTC