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Privilege escalation flaw in Huawei Themes patched in software update

February 23, 2017

By Bradley Barth

Huawei Technologies has released a new software update that patches a privilege escalation vulnerability in its Huawei Themes app that could ultimately result in arbitrary code execution.

Officially designated CVE-2017-2699, the bug is the result of a lack of theme pack check, according to a company vulnerability advisory. Attackers can exploit this flaw by uploading theme packs that contain malicious files and then tricking users into installing them.

Discovered by Wu Huiyu (aka Nicky) from the Security Platform Department at China-based Internet company Tencent, the vulnerability exists in the Honor 7 smartphone (versions prior to PLK-UL00C17B385) and Mate 8 smartphone (versions prior to CRR-L09C432B380).

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Bradley Barth

As director of multimedia content strategy at CyberRisk Alliance, Bradley Barth develops content for online conferences, webcasts, podcasts video/multimedia projects — often serving as moderator or host. For nearly six years, he wrote and reported for SC Media as deputy editor and, before that, senior reporter. He was previously a program executive with the tech-focused PR firm Voxus. Past journalistic experience includes stints as business editor at Executive Technology, a staff writer at New York Sportscene and a freelance journalist covering travel and entertainment. In his spare time, Bradley also writes screenplays.