Overview
This report provides a detailed analysis of the CVE-2023-50096 vulnerability affecting STMicroelectronics STSAFE-A1xx middleware. This vulnerability, if exploited, could allow for MCU code execution by an adversary with the ability to read from and write to the I2C bus. The implications are serious, potentially compromising system integrity and leading to data leakage.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2023-50096
Severity: High (CVSS: 7.5)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: The successful exploitation of this vulnerability may result in a system compromise and potential data leakage.
Affected Products
Escape the Surveillance Era
Most apps won’t tell you the truth.
They’re part of the problem.
Phone numbers. Emails. Profiles. Logs.
It’s all fuel for surveillance.
Ameeba Chat gives you a way out.
- • No phone number
- • No email
- • No personal info
- • Anonymous aliases
- • End-to-end encrypted
Chat without a trace.
Product | Affected Versions
STMicroelectronics STSAFE-A1xx Middleware | Prior to 3.3.7
How the Exploit Works
The vulnerability is caused by a buffer overflow in the StSafeA_ReceiveBytes function of the X-CUBE-SAFEA1 Software Package for STSAFE-A sample applications. An attacker, with the ability to read from and write to the I2C bus, can overflow this buffer, allowing them to execute arbitrary MCU code. This exploitation can affect user-written code that was derived from a published sample application.
Conceptual Example Code
This is a conceptual example of how the vulnerability might be exploited. This could be a shell command that overflows the buffer:
i2cset -y 1 0x20 0x00 0x1234 bThis is a simple example and real-world exploits would be more complex and tailored to specific targets.
Mitigation Guidance
Users are strongly advised to apply the vendor-provided patch to address this vulnerability. If the patch cannot be applied immediately, using a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can serve as a temporary mitigation. However, these solutions do not eliminate the vulnerability and are not recommended as long-term solutions. Users are advised to update their systems as soon as possible.
