Nom: Improper Export of Android Application Components

The Android application exports a component for use by other applications, but does not properly restrict which applications can launch the component or access the data it contains.

Informations générales

Informations de base

Modes d'introduction

Architecture and Design

Plateformes applicables

Langue

Classe : Not Language-Specific (Undetermined)

Technologies

Classe : Mobile (Undetermined)

Conséquences courantes

Portée	Impact	Probabilité
Availability Integrity	Unexpected State, DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart, DoS: Instability, Varies by Context Note : If access to an exported Activity is not restricted, any application will be able to launch the activity. This may allow a malicious application to gain access to sensitive information, modify the internal state of the application, or trick a user into interacting with the victim application while believing they are still interacting with the malicious application.
Availability Integrity	Unexpected State, Gain Privileges or Assume Identity, DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart, DoS: Instability, Varies by Context Note : If access to an exported Service is not restricted, any application may start and bind to the Service. Depending on the exposed functionality, this may allow a malicious application to perform unauthorized actions, gain access to sensitive information, or corrupt the internal state of the application.
Confidentiality Integrity	Read Application Data, Modify Application Data Note : If access to a Content Provider is not restricted to only the expected applications, then malicious applications might be able to access the sensitive data. Note that in Android before 4.2, the Content Provider is automatically exported unless it has been explicitly declared as NOT exported.

Mesures d’atténuation potentielles

Phases : Build and Compilation
If they do not need to be shared by other applications, explicitly mark components with android:exported="false" in the application manifest.
Phases : Build and Compilation
If you only intend to use exported components between related apps under your control, use android:protectionLevel="signature" in the xml manifest to restrict access to applications signed by you.
Phases : Build and Compilation // Architecture and Design
Limit Content Provider permissions (read/write) as appropriate.
Phases : Build and Compilation // Architecture and Design
Limit Content Provider permissions (read/write) as appropriate.

Méthodes de détection

Automated Static Analysis

Automated static analysis, commonly referred to as Static Application Security Testing (SAST), can find some instances of this weakness by analyzing source code (or binary/compiled code) without having to execute it. Typically, this is done by building a model of data flow and control flow, then searching for potentially-vulnerable patterns that connect "sources" (origins of input) with "sinks" (destinations where the data interacts with external components, a lower layer such as the OS, etc.)
Efficacité : High

Notes de cartographie des vulnérabilités

Justification : This CWE entry is at the Variant level of abstraction, which is a preferred level of abstraction for mapping to the root causes of vulnerabilities.
Commentaire : Carefully read both the name and description to ensure that this mapping is an appropriate fit. Do not try to 'force' a mapping to a lower-level Base/Variant simply to comply with this preferred level of abstraction.

Références

REF-923

Security Tips
Android Open Source Project.
https://developer.android.com/training/articles/security-tips#ContentProviders

Soumission

Nom	Organisation	Date	Date de publication	Version
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2013-07-02 +00:00	2013-07-17 +00:00	2.5

Modifications

Nom	Organisation	Date	Commentaire
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2014-01-22 +00:00	Expanded entry to be more general and include all types of Android components that may be improperly exported.
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2014-02-18 +00:00	updated Background_Details, Common_Consequences, Demonstrative_Examples, Description, Maintenance_Notes, Name, Potential_Mitigations, References
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2017-11-08 +00:00	updated References
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2020-02-24 +00:00	updated Applicable_Platforms, Relationships
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2022-10-13 +00:00	updated Background_Details
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2023-04-27 +00:00	updated Detection_Factors, References, Relationships
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2023-06-29 +00:00	updated Mapping_Notes
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2025-12-11 +00:00	updated Relationships, Weakness_Ordinalities
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2026-10-28 +00:00	updated Common_Consequences, Description

Détail du CWE-926

CWE-926