Description

Untrusted pointer dereference vulnerability in Samsung Open Source mTower allows Pointer Manipulation. This issue affects mTower: before 06994e303637512e39062f3e037c222e8448e57e.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "5.5",
  "pubDate": "2026-09-01T11:16:45.373Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-09-01T11:16:45.373Z",
  "executiveSummary": "An untrusted pointer dereference vulnerability exists within the Samsung mTower open-source project, stemming from improper validation of pointers provided by an untrusted source. This vulnerability facilitates arbitrary pointer manipulation, potentially allowing an attacker to read from or write to unintended memory locations.\nThe vulnerability affects mTower versions prior to commit 06994e303637512e39062f3e037c222e8448e57e. In the context of a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) or security-critical enclave framework like mTower, such a flaw presents a severe risk to the isolation boundary.\nAn attacker capable of exploiting this vulnerability can manipulate pointers processed by mTower to bypass memory safety protections. Depending on the specific execution context where the dereference occurs, this could lead to arbitrary code execution, privilege escalation within the TEE, or the compromise of sensitive cryptographic keys and protected assets. Successful exploitation generally requires the ability to influence the input parameters passed to the affected vulnerable function, effectively breaking the trust boundary between the untrusted host and the secure enclave.",
  "technicalDetails": "The vulnerability is classified as an untrusted pointer dereference, a class of software defect where a program fails to perform adequate validation or sanitization on a pointer value before using it in a memory access operation. In mTower, which serves as a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) operating system, the integrity of memory operations is paramount for maintaining the security boundary between untrusted host applications and secure trusted applications (TAs).\nThe root cause of this vulnerability lies in the insufficient verification of pointer arguments passed through an interface, typically from the untrusted Normal World to the secure Trusted World. When the mTower component receives a request, it must strictly validate that any memory pointers provided in the request reside within authorized memory regions and do not overlap with sensitive enclave memory or kernel structures. Due to the lack of these checks in affected versions, an untrusted entity can supply a malicious or crafted pointer value to the mTower interface.\nThe attack flow proceeds as follows: First, the attacker identifies a vulnerable interface or system call within mTower that accepts a pointer as an argument. Second, the attacker prepares a malicious payload or memory access request that utilizes a specifically crafted address. Third, the attacker invokes the mTower function, passing the malicious pointer. Fourth, because mTower performs the dereference without verifying the pointer's validity or ownership, the system performs a read or write operation at the address specified by the attacker, rather than the intended memory location.\nThe post-exploitation impact is critical given mTower's architectural role. If the attacker can control the pointer for a write operation, they may be able to overwrite function pointers, return addresses, or data structures, leading to arbitrary code execution within the TEE context. If the pointer is used for a read operation, the attacker could perform unauthorized disclosure of secret material, including private keys or secure configuration data residing in enclave memory. This bypasses the hardware-enforced isolation mechanisms that mTower is designed to uphold, effectively neutralizing the security guarantees provided by the TEE."
}