Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2018-9374 is an Android permissions bypass in PackageManagerService. A local attacker with user-level execution could potentially gain higher privileges without user interaction. The main business concern is legacy Android fleets that still run Android 6 through 8.1 without the relevant Google/OEM security updates.
Executive priority
Treat this as high priority for legacy Android environments, especially regulated or shared-device fleets. Modern patched devices are less concerning, but unsupported devices should be updated, isolated, or replaced because local privilege escalation can undermine device trust boundaries.
Technical view
The issue is in installPackageLI in Android PackageManagerService.java and is categorized as improper authorization, CWE-863. The CVSS 3.1 score is 7.8 with local attack vector, low complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction, and high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on unmanaged, embedded, kiosk, BYOD, or legacy Android devices running Android 6, 6.0.1, 7, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8, or 8.1 that have not received the vendor security fix.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show active exploitation, and the CVE is not marked KEV. Exploitation requires local user-level execution but no user interaction. Public evidence in the bundle does not provide exploit details, observed attacks, or weaponized tooling.
Researcher notes
Source evidence is sparse: it identifies the vulnerable component, affected Android versions, CWE, CVSS, and Google bulletin reference. It does not include root-cause detail, patch commit, exploit maturity, or detection indicators, so validation should focus on version, patch level, and vendor bulletin mapping.
Mitigation direction
- Check Google and OEM guidance for the June 2018 Android/Pixel security bulletin coverage.
- Apply available Android security updates from the device vendor or OEM.
- Retire or isolate devices that cannot receive vendor security updates.
- Prioritize managed Android fleets with sideloading, shared-use, or kiosk exposure.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Android OS versions and security patch levels across managed devices.
- Identify devices running Android 6 through 8.1 without relevant vendor updates.
- Confirm OEM bulletin mapping for each device model and build.
- Review mobile device management controls for unknown app installation risk.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-863: Authorization and privilege behavior lookup
Authorization weaknesses can support privilege escalation and valid-account review, depending on exploit path. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2018-9374 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 7.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H1.85.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.8HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://source.android.com/docs/security/bulletin/pixel/2018-06-01CVE reference
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Incorrect Authorization
Incorrect Authorization represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.