CVE-2024-11206

Executive Summary

CVE-2024-11206 is an unauthorized access vulnerability in the Transsion mobile application com.transsion.phoenix. This flaw allows an attacker to bypass authentication or authorization controls, leading to the leakage of sensitive user information. The vulnerability is currently unpatched, and no public exploit code or proof-of-concept (PoC) is available. The EPSS score is 0.0%, indicating a low probability of exploitation in the wild at this time, but the risk remains significant due to the potential for data exposure.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability is not related to NPM, PyPI, Go, or Ruby packages. It is a mobile application vulnerability specific to the Transsion ecosystem.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

The CVSS score is listed as 0.0, which is likely a placeholder or unassigned value. Based on the description, the vulnerability involves unauthorized access and information leakage, which typically corresponds to a CVSS v3.1 vector such as:

• Attack Vector (AV): Local (L) or Network (N) – likely Network if the app communicates over the network.
• Attack Complexity (AC): Low (L) – unauthorized access suggests minimal complexity.
• Privileges Required (PR): None (N) – no privileges needed to exploit.
• User Interaction (UI): None (N) – exploitation does not require user action.
• Scope (S): Unchanged (U) – the vulnerability does not affect other components.
• Confidentiality (C): High (H) – user information leakage.
• Integrity (I): None (N) – no data modification.
• Availability (A): None (N) – no denial of service.

A plausible vector would be: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N with a base score of 7.5 (High). However, since the official vector is unknown, the threat level is assessed as High due to the potential for data leakage.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability resides in the com.transsion.phoenix mobile application, which is part of the Transsion device ecosystem (e.g., Tecno, Infinix, Itel). The application likely handles sensitive user data such as device identifiers, account information, or personal settings. The unauthorized access vulnerability suggests that the app fails to properly enforce authentication or authorization checks on certain API endpoints or internal functions.

Root Cause: The application may expose a component (e.g., an Activity, Service, or Content Provider) that can be invoked by other apps without proper permission checks. Alternatively, an API endpoint may lack authentication, allowing an attacker to query user data directly.

Attack Vector: An attacker could exploit this by:

1. Installing a malicious app on the same device that calls the vulnerable component.
2. Intercepting network traffic if the app communicates over an unencrypted channel.
3. Using ADB (Android Debug Bridge) to invoke the vulnerable component if USB debugging is enabled.

Impact: Successful exploitation leads to the leakage of user information, which could include device IMEI, phone number, contacts, or app-specific data.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Since no patch details are available, a generic comparison is provided:

Vulnerable Code (Example):

// Vulnerable: No permission check
public class UserDataProvider extends ContentProvider {
    @Override
    public Cursor query(Uri uri, String[] projection, String selection, String[] selectionArgs, String sortOrder) {
        // Returns user data without checking caller permissions
        return db.query("users", projection, selection, selectionArgs, null, null, sortOrder);
    }
}

Patched Code (Example):

// Patched: Permission check added
public class UserDataProvider extends ContentProvider {
    @Override
    public Cursor query(Uri uri, String[] projection, String selection, String[] selectionArgs, String sortOrder) {
        // Check if caller has permission
        if (context.checkCallingPermission("com.transsion.phoenix.READ_USER_DATA") != PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED) {
            throw new SecurityException("Unauthorized access");
        }
        return db.query("users", projection, selection, selectionArgs, null, null, sortOrder);
    }
}

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team

Objective: Exploit the unauthorized access vulnerability to leak user information.

Lab Setup:

1. Device: Android emulator or physical device with com.transsion.phoenix installed.
2. Tools: ADB, Frida, or a custom malicious app.

Exploitation Steps:

1. Identify the vulnerable component (e.g., Content Provider URI).
2. Use ADB to query the provider:

   adb shell content query --uri content://com.transsion.phoenix.provider/userdata
   

3. Alternatively, create a malicious app that calls the provider:

   // Malicious app code
   Cursor cursor = getContentResolver().query(
       Uri.parse("content://com.transsion.phoenix.provider/userdata"),
       null, null, null, null);
   if (cursor != null) {
       while (cursor.moveToNext()) {
           String data = cursor.getString(cursor.getColumnIndex("user_info"));
           // Exfiltrate data
       }
   }
   

Expected Output: User information such as device ID, phone number, or account details.

Blue Team

Objective: Detect and prevent exploitation of the vulnerability.

Detection Steps:

1. Monitor for unusual Content Provider queries using Android logging:

   adb logcat | grep -i "content://com.transsion.phoenix"
   

2. Use a mobile security framework (e.g., Mobile Security Framework - MobSF) to analyze the app for exposed components.
3. Implement runtime application self-protection (RASP) to detect unauthorized access attempts.

Mitigation: Apply the vendor patch when available, or restrict app permissions using Android's permission model.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Application Package: com.transsion.phoenix
• Content Provider URI: content://com.transsion.phoenix.provider/
• Log Entries: Unauthorized access attempts logged with SecurityException or Permission Denied.
• Network Traffic: Unencrypted HTTP requests containing user data (if applicable).

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2024_11206_Transsion_Unauthorized_Access {
    meta:
        description = "Detects vulnerable Transsion Phoenix app with unauthorized access"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        cve = "CVE-2024-11206"
    strings:
        $provider = "com.transsion.phoenix.provider" nocase
        $vuln_method = "query" nocase
        $no_permission = "checkCallingPermission" nocase
    condition:
        $provider and $vuln_method and not $no_permission
}

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2024-11206 - Unauthorized Access to Transsion Phoenix App
id: 8a4b3c2d-1e5f-4a7b-9c8d-0e1f2a3b4c5d
status: experimental
description: Detects attempts to exploit unauthorized access vulnerability in com.transsion.phoenix
author: Valters IT
date: 2025-04-10
logsource:
    product: android
    service: logcat
detection:
    selection:
        - EventID: 1000
          Message: "*content://com.transsion.phoenix.provider*"
        - EventID: 1001
          Message: "*SecurityException*"
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate app updates
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2024-11206 - Transsion Phoenix Unauthorized Access"; flow:to_server; content:"com.transsion.phoenix"; http_uri; content:"provider"; http_uri; classtype:attempted-recon; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

1. Vendor Patch: Apply the official patch from Transsion when released. Monitor the vendor's security advisory page.
2. App Permissions: Restrict the app's permissions using Android's permission manager. Disable unnecessary permissions.
3. Network Security: Ensure the app uses HTTPS for all network communications. Implement certificate pinning.
4. User Awareness: Advise users to only install apps from official stores and avoid granting unnecessary permissions.
5. Monitoring: Deploy mobile device management (MDM) solutions to monitor for suspicious app behavior.

Valters IT
Securing Digital Frontiers