Android Security

Google releases July 2019 Android Security Bulletin and Google Device Images

Google has released the July 2019 Android Security Bulletin, giving carriers and device makers a fresh set of patches to install.

Though Google puts out the Android security patches each month, the job of actually getting the fixes to end users falls on the telcos and/or device manufacturers themselves. Those partners vary in their ability to release the patches in a timely fashion.

Google patched 33 security vulnerabilities in the Android system, framework, library, media framework, Qualcomm components, and Qualcomm closed-source components, all of them addressed in the 2019-07-01 and 2019-07-05 security patch levels.

While the CVE-2019-2106, CVE-2019-2107, and CVE-2019-2109 critical RCE flaws impact all Android 7.0 or later devices with Android 9.0 not being affected by the latter, the fourth CVE-2019-2111 security issue present in the Android system affects only devices running Android 9.0.

The rest of the 33 vulnerabilities patched in this security update are either elevation of privilege flaws, can lead to information disclosure, or haven’t yet been classified, and users should be safe against potential attacks after applying the latest Android security patch.

The July bulletin has two security patch levels to provide Android partners with the flexibility to more quickly fix a subset of vulnerabilities that are similar across all Android devices.

  • 01-07-2019: Partial security patch level string. This security patch level string indicates that all issues associated with 01-07-2019 (and all previous security patch level strings) are addressed.
  • 05-07-2018: Complete security patch level string. This security patch level address all issues associated with the 05-07-2019 security patch level and all previous patch levels.

The most severe of these issues is a critical security vulnerability in Media framework that could enable a remote attacker using a specially crafted file to execute arbitrary code within the context of a privileged process. The severity assessment is based on the effect that exploiting the vulnerability would possibly have on an affected device, assuming the platform and service mitigations are turned off for development purposes or if successfully bypassed.

Alongside the bulletin, Google have released a security update to Google devices through an over-the-air (OTA) update. The Google device firmware images have also been released to the Google Developer site. Security patch levels of July 5, 2019 or later address all of these issues.

The tables below contains a list of security vulnerabilities, the Common Vulnerability and Exposures ID (CVE), the assessed severity, and whether or not Google devices are affected. The severity assessment is based on the effect that exploiting the vulnerability would possibly have on an affected device, assuming the platform and service mitigations are disabled for development purposes or if successfully bypassed.

Android and Google Service Mitigation’s

This is a summary of the mitigation’s provided by the Android security platform and service protections such as Google Play Protect. These capabilities reduce the likelihood that security vulnerabilities could be successfully exploited on Android.

  • Exploitation for many issues on Android is made more difficult by enhancements in newer versions of the Android platform. All users are encouraged to update to the latest version of Android where possible.
  • The Android security team actively monitors for abuse through Google Play Protect and warns users about Potentially Harmful Applications. Google Play Protect is enabled by default on devices with Google Mobile Services, and is especially important for users who install apps from outside of Google Play.

Terminology

You will find different types of vulnerabilities listed. Possible types include:

  • RCE—Remote code execution
  • EoP—Elevation of privilege
  • ID—Information disclosure
  • DoS—Denial of service

01-07-2019 security patch level—Vulnerability details

Framework

The vulnerability in this section could enable a local malicious application to bypass user interaction requirements in order to gain access to additional permissions.

CVE References Type Severity Updated AOSP versions
CVE-2019-2104 A-131356202 ID High 8.0, 8.1, 9

Library

The vulnerability in this section could enable a remote attacker using a specially crafted file to execute arbitrary code within the context of an unprivileged process.

CVE References Type Severity Updated AOSP versions
CVE-2019-2105 A-116114182 RCE High 7.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, 8.1, 9

Media framework

The most severe vulnerability in this section could enable a remote attacker using a specially crafted file to execute arbitrary code within the context of a privileged process.

CVE References Type Severity Updated AOSP versions
CVE-2019-2106 A-130023983 RCE Critical 7.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, 8.1, 9
CVE-2019-2107 A-130024844 RCE Critical 7.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, 8.1, 9
CVE-2019-2109 A-130651570 RCE Critical 7.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, 8.1

System

The most severe vulnerability in this section could enable a remote attacker using a specially crafted file to execute arbitrary code within the context of a privileged process.

CVE References Type Severity Updated AOSP versions
CVE-2019-2111 A-122856181 RCE Critical 9
CVE-2019-2112 A-117997080 EoP High 8.0, 8.1, 9
CVE-2019-2113 A-122597079 EoP High 9
CVE-2019-2116 A-117105007 ID High 7.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, 8.1, 9
CVE-2019-2117 A-124107808 ID High 7.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, 8.1, 9
CVE-2019-2118 A-130161842 ID High 8.0, 8.1, 9
CVE-2019-2119 A-131622568 ID High 8.0, 8.1, 9

05-06-2019 security patch level—Vulnerability details

Qualcomm components

These vulnerabilities affect Qualcomm components and are described in further detail in the appropriate Qualcomm security bulletin or security alert. The severity assessment of these issues is provided directly by Qualcomm.

CVE References Type Severity Component
CVE-2019-2308 A-129852114
QC-CR#2338800
N/A Critical DSP_Services
CVE-2019-2330 A-129850940
QC-CR#2379952
N/A Critical Kernel
CVE-2019-2276 A-130890737
QC-CR#2335974
N/A High WLAN HOST
CVE-2019-2305 A-78530292
QC-CR#2253984
N/A High WLAN Driver
CVE-2019-2278 A-130567114
QC-CR#2345293
N/A High HLOS
CVE-2019-2307 A-129850941
QC-CR#2337425
N/A High WLAN HOST
CVE-2019-2326 A-129850483
QC-CR#2372306
N/A High Audio
CVE-2019-2328 A-129851238
QC-CR#2375115
N/A High Audio

Qualcomm closed-source components

These vulnerabilities affect Qualcomm closed-source components and are described in further detail in the appropriate Qualcomm security bulletin or security alert. The severity assessment of these issues is provided directly by Qualcomm.

CVE References Type Severity Component
CVE-2019-2254 A-122473972 N/A Critical Closed-source component
CVE-2019-2322 A-129766496 N/A Critical Closed-source component
CVE-2019-2327 A-129766125 N/A Critical Closed-source component
CVE-2019-2235 A-122473271 N/A High Closed-source component
CVE-2019-2236 A-122474808 N/A High Closed-source component
CVE-2019-2237 A-122472479 N/A High Closed-source component
CVE-2019-2238 A-122473168 N/A High Closed-source component
CVE-2019-2239 A-122473304 N/A High Closed-source component
CVE-2019-2240 A-122473496 N/A High Closed-source component
CVE-2019-2241 A-122473989 N/A High Closed-source component
CVE-2019-2253 A-129766432 N/A High Closed-source component
CVE-2019-2334 A-129766099 N/A High Closed-source component
CVE-2019-2346 A-129766299 N/A High Closed-source component

Full details of the July 2019 Android Security Bulletin are available here.