Dangerous vulnerability discovered in OnePlus and Oppo smartphones

Cybersecurity researcher Rasmus Moorats has discovered two critical vulnerabilities in the system software of OnePlus and Oppo smartphones that allow simple APK apps to gain full root privileges. According to ixbt.com, the main danger lies in the fact that malicious software could bypass the Android security system without requiring any special permissions for its operation. This is reported by Ixbt.com reports.

According to the research results, the first flaw was hidden in the AtlasService system service, which is part of OxygenOS. This service allowed an installed application to execute commands on behalf of UID 0, i.e., a user with full root privileges. Nevertheless, at the initial stage, the attacker's capabilities were limited by SELinux security mechanisms.

However, the second vulnerability was identified in the OplusLogCore service, which helped to bypass these very restrictions. The expert managed to use this service to launch a command with a full set of Linux capabilities. The combination of the two bugs created a perfect privilege escalation chain that allows for a complete breakout from the standard Android platform security model.

Practical tests and device coverage

To test the attack mechanism in practice, Rasmus Moorats created a simple APK file that does not require additional permissions. Initial development and testing were carried out on a OnePlus 12 smartphone. After that, the researcher installed the same APK file on a OnePlus 15 device without any changes.

The exploit launched successfully on the first attempt. This clearly demonstrated that these vulnerabilities exist not only in one model but across multiple generations of devices and various software versions.

Manufacturer's response and security measures

The researcher officially notified OnePlus about the identified issues in April of this year. By May, the manufacturer confirmed the security flaws and stated that they affect many OnePlus and Oppo smartphones with different software versions. Nevertheless, a complete list of potentially vulnerable models and firmware has not been provided to the repository.

Currently, both vulnerabilities have been fully patched on the OnePlus 15 smartphone. The OxygenOS 16.0.10.500(EX01) update, which began in August, resolved the security issue. However, it remains unknown whether all other types of at-risk OnePlus and Oppo devices have received similar fixes.