Description

In aidl, there is a possible memory corruption due to use after free. This could lead to local escalation of privilege if a malicious actor has already obtained the System privilege. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Patch ID: ALPS11242428; Issue ID: MSV-9038.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "6.7",
  "pubDate": "2026-10-05T02:16:52.507Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-10-05T02:16:52.507Z",
  "executiveSummary": "A critical memory corruption vulnerability exists within the Android Interface Definition Language (AIDL) implementation, specifically identified by Issue ID MSV-9038. The flaw is classified as a Use-After-Free (UAF) condition, which potentially allows for local privilege escalation.\nThe vulnerability resides in the memory management logic of the AIDL framework. An attacker who has already successfully compromised a process with System-level privileges can leverage this flaw to execute arbitrary code or further elevate their system access state. The exploitation process does not require user interaction, making it a potent vector for post-compromise persistence or escalation.\nThe risk implication is significant as it provides a mechanism for a privileged actor to bypass security boundaries within the Android operating system. While the exploitation requires initial System-level access, the impact is severe, potentially resulting in full system compromise or unauthorized execution of operations with elevated permissions. Organizations should treat this as a high-priority update item, ensuring that the relevant patches are applied to mitigate the risk of local escalation.",
  "technicalDetails": "The root cause of this vulnerability is a Use-After-Free (UAF) condition triggered during the lifecycle management of objects within the AIDL communication layer. AIDL is responsible for defining the interface for inter-process communication (IPC) on the Android platform. The UAF occurs when the system attempts to access or manipulate a memory region that has already been deallocated by the heap manager.\nIn the context of MSV-9038, the vulnerability arises when a reference to a memory-mapped object is incorrectly maintained after the underlying resource has been freed. If a malicious actor can influence the timing or the state of the IPC buffer, they may be able to force a dangling pointer to be dereferenced. Because the pointer now points to a deallocated or reallocated memory block, the attacker can influence the execution flow if the heap memory is subsequently reclaimed by an object controlled or influenced by the attacker.\nThe attack flow follows a specific progression: First, the attacker must initiate an IPC call via the AIDL interface. By providing specially crafted parcel data or triggering specific race conditions, the attacker induces the system to free a resource prematurely while maintaining a stale reference in the AIDL runtime. Second, the attacker performs heap spraying or memory grooming to populate the vacated memory slot with controlled data. Finally, the attacker triggers the usage of the dangling pointer. When the runtime accesses this memory, it inadvertently executes code or follows pointers specified by the attacker within the sprayed memory. This redirection of control flow allows for the corruption of process memory or the execution of arbitrary payloads.\nGiven that this vulnerability requires System-level privileges for the initial exploit attempt, the primary impact is the escalation from System to higher-level or more persistent unauthorized access. The lack of user interaction makes the attack silent and highly effective within a compromised environment. The vulnerability demonstrates a failure in memory synchronization or reference counting within the AIDL implementation, specifically concerning objects passed through Binder transactions. The scope of the vulnerability is limited to the local system, as the exploit relies on the attacker already possessing the ability to interface with the AIDL service at the System privilege level."
}