CVE-2024-29998: Windows Mobile Broadband Driver Remote Code Execution Vulnerability Exposed

The latest vulnerability discovered by researchers in Microsoft Windows operating system technology is CVE-2024-29998. This exploit allows for remote code execution (RCE) in the Windows Mobile Broadband (MB) driver, which can potentially enable an attacker to gain unauthorized administrative control over your system. In this article, we will discuss the details of this vulnerability as well as provide steps to demonstrate its potential impact on your system.

Description

The Windows Mobile Broadband (MB) driver is responsible for communication between the host operating system and mobile broadband devices. The vulnerable component resides at the core of the driver that deals with data processing from incoming network packets. This newly discovered exploit exists due to a fault in the buffer handling mechanism in the MB driver, leading to a buffer overflow condition. A remote attacker can take advantage of this condition, executing arbitrary codes and gaining unauthorized control over your system.

Below is a code snippet demonstrating this vulnerability

NTSTATUS HandleDataPacket (IN PVOID pBuffer,
                           IN ULONG ulBufferLength,
                           OUT size_t *pBytesProcessed)
{
   NTSTATUS status = STATUS_SUCCESS;
   ULONG ulBytesProcessed = ;
   
   // Vulnerable buffer
   BYTE vulnerableBuffer[MAX_PACKET_SIZE];
   
   // Process incoming data
   status = ProcessPacket(pBuffer, ulBufferLength, &ulBytesProcessed);
   
   // Check if ulBytesProcessed is greater than the buffer size
   if (ulBytesProcessed > MAX_PACKET_SIZE)
   {
      status = STATUS_BUFFER_OVERFLOW;
      goto Cleanup;
   }
   
   // Vulnerable buffer copy
   memcpy(vulnerableBuffer, pBuffer, ulBytesProcessed);
   
Cleanup:
   *pBytesProcessed = ulBytesProcessed;
   return status;
}

Original References

The Mitre CVE Entry for this vulnerability can be found at the following link: CVE-2024-29998

Exploit Details

The exploit attack vector involves a remote attacker sending data packets that result in a buffer overflow, ultimately causing the MB driver to crash and potentially allowing arbitrary code execution. Here's a step-by-step explanation of the process:

The target system processes the data packet, which includes a larger-than-expected number of bytes.

3. The vulnerable MB driver attempts to copy the entire data packet to the vulnerable buffer without proper bounds checking, resulting in a buffer overflow.
4. As a consequence of the buffer overflow, the attacker can trigger the execution of arbitrary code on the target system, potentially gaining administrative control.

Mitigation

Microsoft has issued a security update for this vulnerability, and users are advised to apply this update as soon as possible to prevent exploitation. Additionally, disabling the use of mobile broadband on your system is another way to mitigate the risk associated with this vulnerability.

In conclusion, the CVE-2024-29998 vulnerability in the Windows MB driver can lead to potentially severe consequences if exploited by a remote attacker, granting them unauthorized administrative access to your system. Ensuring you have the latest security updates is crucial to maintaining the safety of your system, and users are always encouraged to stay up-to-date with patches to minimize risks associated with vulnerabilities like this one.

Timeline

Published on: 05/14/2024 17:16:23 UTC
Last modified on: 08/02/2024 01:25:00 UTC