CVE-2015-9127

Vulnerability

In Android prior to the 2018-04-05 security patch level on Qualcomm Snapdragon Mobile and Wear platforms (MSM8909W, SD 210/SD 212/SD 205, SD 400, SD 410/12, SD 615/16/SD 415, and SD 810), the Playready App contains a null pointer dereference vulnerability. This occurs when a large value is passed for buffer allocation, causing memory allocation to fail and leading to a null pointer being dereferenced [1].

Exploitation

An attacker can trigger this vulnerability by providing an overly large buffer allocation request to the Playready App. This requires the ability to influence the buffer size parameter, which may be achievable locally or potentially via crafted input from a remote source depending on the application's attack surface. No authentication is required beyond normal user access to the affected device [1].

Impact

Successful exploitation results in a null pointer dereference, which typically leads to a denial of service (DoS) condition, causing the application or system to crash. The scope is limited to the affected Qualcomm-based devices running the vulnerable software versions [1].

Mitigation

Google released a security patch in the April 2018 Android Security Bulletin (2018-04-05 security patch level). Users should apply the OTA update or install the corresponding patch from their device manufacturer. No workaround is provided for unpatched devices [1].