Hacker Rewarded $70,000 for Finding Way to Bypass Google Pixel Phones' Lock Screens.

Google has resolved a high-severity security issue affecting all Pixel smartphones that could be trivially exploited to unlock the devices.

The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2022-20465 and reported by security researcher David Schütz in June 2022, was remediated as part of the search giant's monthly Android update for November 2022.

"The issue allowed an attacker with physical access to bypass the lock screen protections (fingerprint, PIN, etc.) and gain complete access to the user's device," Schütz, who was awarded $70,000 for the lock screen bypass, said in a write-up of the flaw.

The problem, per the researcher, is rooted in the fact that lock screen protections are completely defeated when following a specific sequence of steps -

Supply incorrect fingerprint three times to disable biometric authentication on the locked device
Hot swap the SIM card in the device with an attacker-controlled SIM that has a PIN code set up
Enter incorrect SIM pin thrice when prompted, locking the SIM card
Device prompts user to enter the SIM's Personal Unlocking Key (PUK) code, a unique 8-digit number to unblock the SIM card
Enter a new PIN code for the attacker-controlled SIM
Device automatically unlocks

This also means that all an adversary needs to unlock a Pixel phone is to bring their own PIN-locked SIM card and is in possession of the card's PUK code.

"The attacker could just swap the SIM in the victim's device, and perform the exploit with a SIM card that had a PIN lock and for which the attacker knew the correct PUK code," Schütz said.

An analysis of the source code commitsmade by Google to patch the flaw shows that it's caused by an "incorrect system state" introduced as a result of wrongly interpreting the SIM change event, causing it to entirely dismiss the lock screen.

"I was not expecting to cause this big of a code change in Android with this bug," Schütz concluded.

Comments

UGANDA ELECTORAL COMMISSION TO ELIMINATE NATIONAL IDENTIFICATION CARDS (IDs) FOR 2021 GENERAL ELECTIONS.

The elimination of using National IDs (Ndagamuntu) for the 2021 elections should not have come as a surprise. One would be very NAIVE to think that Bobi Wine has not prepared for this in his Business Plan under the RISK section. It is public knowledge that our EC is not independent. It is also public knowledge that Military Dictator Yoweri Museveni will never lose an election. What stunned us this morning is when we noticed that on social media, people were mocking Bobi with his "get your Ndagamuntu". We are on record for saying to all Our readers that the National ID is like Apartheid in South Africa. Students of History would know how those IDs were being used to arrest people, deny them jobs, deny them basic services. Consequently, Bobi was not wrong and will never be wrong on the Ndagamuntu. Except the ones attacking him and mocking him forget that in Uganda, now, no National ID (Ndagamuntu), no service. If you have not been denied registering your child i...

Here is Why Our Utterances For Praying Jesus And God To Come Liberate Ugandans, May Be Misplaced. This Phrase is like inform of a Letter To Some Categorized Section Of Ugandans.

https://m.facebook.com/yusufosuta/photos/a.1896701010557789/2070383359856219/?type=3 OPEN LETTER TO NRM SUPPORTERS - NATIONAL ROBBERS MOVEMENT. .................................................................................. Last week of March, a friend told me to pray for Uganda. I told him that he was an Idiot and we have prayed for too long and we are still hungry and sick and Jesus is not coming soon to liberate us. He then ignored the STUPID and sent me a picture we all now know. It got me totally messed up. This guy was telling me to pray then sends a picture of men bowing down in blood. He might have meant guns but I blocked him because his utterances of praying for Uganda were misplaced. I unblocked him 3 weeks later and asked him about praying and assassinations. His reply "eithrr prayers or guns or both". I hate violence with a passion. So he is now blocked in like FOREVER. Do you feel safe? Do not feel safe. Uganda regim...

CAN I CHANGE MY MIND ABOUT THE INHERITANCE I RECEIVED AND ASK FOR SOMETHING ELSE ?.

#iip_updates . #Information_is_Power . Read more here https://informationispowah.blogspot.com/2023/07/can-i-change-my-mind-about-inheritance.html in the link. #we_inform_the_uninformed . Okello lost his wife 20 years ago and decided to only focus on their Mateo, Yona and Yosefu. 20 years later, Okello had 7 acres of land, a successful poultry business, and sinotrucks for hire. Early this year, Okello got a call telling him that one of his trucks knocked a boda boda. Okello decided to rush to see if he could sort it out before police became involved. Unfortunately, he never made it, as he was entering the main road, another trailer rammed into him and killed him instantly. After Okello had been laid to rest, his sons sat down and divided the property amongst themselves. However, of late, Yosefu the last born has started complaining that he was cheated, and he wants to be given something else because most of the chicken in the chicken business died of a fever. Can ...

Osuta Yusuf

Search This Blog