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TizenOperating system · Linux

CVE-2018-16264

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-01-22
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
70/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
The BlueZ system service in Tizen allows an unprivileged process to partially control Bluetooth or acquire sensitive information, due to improper D-Bus security policy configurations. This affects Tizen before 5.0 M1, and Tizen-based firmwares including Samsung Galaxy Gear series before build RE2.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

BlueZ D-Bus service in Tizen has improper security policy configurations that allow unprivileged processes to access restricted Bluetooth functionality and sensitive information through D-Bus inter-process communication, enabling partial Bluetooth control or information disclosure.

MitigationUpgrade to Tizen 5.0 M1 or later, or apply vendor-provided patches for Samsung Galaxy Gear devices running firmware before RE2. The fix requires proper D-Bus security policy configuration in the BlueZ service to restrict unprivileged access.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
TizenOperating system
Affected:= 1.0= 2.0= 2.1= 2.2= 2.2.1= 2.3= 2.3.1= 2.4= 3.0= 4.0= 5.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Adjacent
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm Tizen version
    Check the installed Tizen version by reviewing /etc/os-release or using the command 'cat /etc/version' or 'getprop ro.build.version.tizen' depending on the device type
    Affected if The version matches 1.0, 2.0, 2.1, 2.2, 2.2.1, 2.3, 2.3.1, 2.4, 3.0, 4.0, or 5.0 (versions before 5.0 M1)
  2. Verify BlueZ D-Bus service is present
    Check if the BlueZ Bluetooth daemon is running by examining running processes with 'ps aux | grep -i bluez' or checking for D-Bus service registration with 'dbus-send --system --dest=org.bluez --type=method_call --print-reply / org.freedesktop.DBus.Introspectable.Introspect'
    Affected if BlueZ service is active and exposing D-Bus interfaces to the system bus
  3. Examine BlueZ D-Bus security policy configuration
    Locate and review the BlueZ D-Bus policy configuration files, typically found in /etc/dbus-1/system.d/ or within the BlueZ service configuration directory; check for XML policy files containing 'allow' rules for unprivileged users
    Affected if Policy files contain 'allow' entries without proper 'send_destination' restrictions or lack authentication requirements for sensitive Bluetooth methods
  4. Test unprivileged D-Bus access to BlueZ
    As a non-root user, attempt to invoke a restricted BlueZ D-Bus method such as 'dbus-send --system --dest=org.bluez --type=method_call --print-reply / org.bluez.Adapter.SetProperty' or query for device discovery methods
    Affected if The call succeeds without permission errors, indicating the security policy permits unprivileged access to restricted Bluetooth functionality

The environment is affected if running a Tizen version 1.0 through 5.0 with the BlueZ D-Bus service that exposes restricted Bluetooth methods to unprivileged processes due to overly permissive security policies.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade to Tizen 5.0 M1 or later, or apply vendor-provided patches for Samsung Galaxy Gear devices running firmware before RE2. The fix requires proper D-Bus security policy configuration in the BlueZ service to restrict unprivileged access.

Fix this in Tizen Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
24.0 hours of engineering $4,160
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-16264 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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