Google has released the October 2018 Android Security Bulletin. Partners have had access to the warnings in this month’s bulletin for at least a month.
The October 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.
- 2018-10-01: Partial security patch level string. This security patch level string indicates that all issues associated with 2018-10-01 (and all previous security patch level strings) are addressed.
- 2018-10-05: Complete security patch level string. This security patch level address all issues associated with the 2018-10-05 security patch level and all previous patch levels.
The most severe of these issues is a critical security vulnerability in 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 October 5, 2018 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 Mitigations
This is a summary of the mitigations 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.
2018-10-01 security patch level—Vulnerability details
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-2018-9490 | A-111274046 | EoP | Critical | 7.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, 8.1, 9 |
| CVE-2018-9491 | A-111603051 | RCE | High | 7.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, 8.1, 9 |
| CVE-2018-9492 | A-111934948 | EoP | High | 8.0, 8.1, 9 |
| CVE-2018-9493 | A-111085900 | ID | High | 7.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, 8.1, 9 |
| CVE-2018-9452 | A-78464361 | DoS | Moderate | 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-2018-9473 | A-65484460 | RCE | Critical | 8.0 |
| CVE-2018-9496 | A-110769924 | RCE | Critical | 9 |
| CVE-2018-9497 | A-74078669 | RCE | Critical | 7.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, 8.1, 9 |
| CVE-2018-9498 | A-78354855 | RCE | Critical | 7.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, 8.1 |
| CVE-2018-9499 | A-79218474 | ID | High | 7.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, 8.1, 9 |
System
The most severe vulnerability in this section could enable a proximate attacker to execute arbitrary code within the context of a privileged process.
| CVE | References | Type | Severity | Updated AOSP versions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2017-13283 | A-78526423 | RCE | Critical | 7.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, 8.1, 9 |
| CVE-2018-9476 | A-109699112 | EoP | Critical | 8.0, 8.1 |
| CVE-2018-9504 | A-110216176 | RCE | Critical | 7.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, 8.1, 9 |
| CVE-2018-9501 | A-110034419 | EoP | High | 7.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, 8.1, 9 |
| CVE-2018-9502 | A-111936792 | ID | High | 7.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, 8.1, 9 |
| CVE-2018-9503 | A-80432928 | ID | High | 7.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, 8.1, 9 |
| CVE-2018-9505 | A-110791536 | ID | High | 7.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, 8.1, 9 |
| CVE-2018-9506 | A-111803925 | ID | High | 7.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, 8.1, 9 |
| CVE-2018-9507 | A-111893951 | ID | High | 7.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, 8.1, 9 |
| CVE-2018-9508 | A-111936834 | ID | High | 7.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, 8.1 |
| CVE-2018-9509 | A-111937027 | ID | High | 7.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, 8.1, 9 |
| CVE-2018-9510 | A-111937065 | ID | High | 7.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, 8.1, 9 |
| CVE-2018-9511 | A-111650288 | DoS | High | 9 |
2018-10-05 security patch level—Vulnerability details
Kernel components
The most severe vulnerability in this section could enable a local malicious application to execute arbitrary code within the context of a privileged process.
| CVE | References | Type | Severity | Component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2018-9513 | A-111081202 | EoP | High | Fork |
| CVE-2018-9514 | A-111642636 | EoP | High | sdcardfs |
| CVE-2018-9515 | A-111641492 | EoP | High | sdcardfs |
Full details of the October 2018 Android Security Bulletin are available here.
