CVE-2022-39893 - Sensitive Information Exposure Vulnerability in Galaxy Buds Pro Manage App

Recently, security experts identified a vulnerability tracked as CVE-2022-39893 in the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro Manage application. This vulnerability is about how the app logs sensitive information, specifically device identifier data. People with access to local logs could read these logs and see data they shouldn't.

If you're using Galaxy Buds Pro Manage app versions below 4.1.22092751 on your Samsung phone, you might want to pay close attention.

What is CVE-2022-39893?

This vulnerability is a classic example of "Sensitive Information Exposure." The Galaxy Buds Pro Manage app keeps logs to help with debugging or customer support. But, pre-4.1.22092751 versions of the app had a bug: they stored device identifier data (like the device's unique ID) in device logs that could be read by other apps or users with log access.

FmmBaseModel is the piece of code that accidentally leaked this info.

Threat Model

- Exploit Scenario: An attacker installs a malicious app on the same device or gets access to device logs (physical access or remote, via malware).
- Attack Result: Attacker recovers device identifier data (like unique serial numbers, tokens, etc.) by simply reading logs, without special privileges (other than log access).

Certain methods in this class log sensitive identifiers directly to the Android system log.

3. Any app or person with access to the logs (like readlogs permission) can harvest these identifiers.

Below is a mockup of what the problematic code might look like

// Within FmmBaseModel.java

public void setDeviceIdentifier(String deviceId) {
    this.deviceId = deviceId;
    Log.i("FmmBaseModel", "Device identifier is: " + deviceId); // BAD: Sensitive data in log!
}

Why is this Bad?

The Log.i() call writes the device ID to the system logs. On some Android devices, other apps can request permission to read logs (android.permission.READ_LOGS), or root users can just look at everything. Any privacy-sensitive data stored in logs is at risk.

Step-by-Step

1. Install a malicious Android app that requests log access (on older Android versions, before permissions were restricted).

Example (Command Line on Rooted Device)

adb logcat | grep 'FmmBaseModel'
# Output might show:
# I/FmmBaseModel: Device identifier is: XYZ12345-ABC

References

- NVD - CVE-2022-39893
- Samsung Security Advisory SVE-2022-39893
- OWASP: Sensitive Data Exposure

Summary

CVE-2022-39893 is a reminder you must always be cautious about how apps handle sensitive data. Developers should never log private info, even for debugging, unless absolutely necessary—and then it should be protected or obfuscated.

If you use Galaxy Buds Pro, check your app version and update if you're below 4.1.22092751. If you're a developer, avoid logging sensitive information, ever!


Have questions about this vulnerability? Want to know if you’re affected? Drop a comment below or check the references above. Stay safe!

Timeline

Published on: 11/09/2022 22:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 11/10/2022 19:00:00 UTC