Hackers could abuse the Kyocera Android app to drop malware

The Kyocera Android app printing tool could allow a malicious actor to exploit its vulnerability to install malware on devices. The flaw could allow improper application use to download and drop malware.

Based on reports, the critical vulnerability is CVE-2023-25954 and could impact three applications with millions of downloads. The confirmed compromised applications are the KYOCERA Mobile Print v3.2.0.230119 and Olivetti Mobile Print v3.2.0.230119. The earlier versions of the earlier-mentioned apps could also suffer the same exploit.

Moreover, researchers explained that these apps came from different publishers but shared the same coding process. Hence, the recently identified vulnerability affects all three applications.

 

The Kyocera Android app developers immediately advised its users to update their applications.

 

According to the Kyocera Android app security bulletin, users should upgrade their app version to 3.2.0.230227, available on Google Play.

The notification also revealed that the KYOCERA Mobile Print’s application class could enable an attacker to have data transmission capabilities from compromised third-party mobile apps. These instances could result in the downloading and installation of malicious files.

In addition, attackers could access malicious sites through the KYOCERA Mobile Print web browser tool. Therefore, malicious files could freely infect the device, leading to internal data procurement.

Researchers explained that the user should also install a second malicious app on their device to trigger the payload download so the attack could commence.

Moreover, the researchers stated that it is easy to distribute a malicious application that exploits the issue, which counters the mitigation process for the flaw’s severity. Users would like to feel these damages once they approve risky permissions after app installation. Lastly, the app could check for if the vulnerable apps are present in the devices, so install malware.

Fortunately, the upcoming Android 14 patch will address the security issue. The update will also mitigate other risks and detect the obfuscated data exchanges of the current flaw.

The security update would protect privileged applications, such as printing tools, from malicious intents from other apps that operate on the same machine.