Introduction:

The Android operating system is the most widely used operating system for mobile devices. Android has around 82.8% (IDC) market share and is a favourite  target for attackers. One of the latest vulnerabilities, StageFright, allows the attacker to execute arbitrary code on an Android device which takes advantage of a flaw that exists in media library stagefright. Considering other platforms such iOS, Windows, and Blackberry, Varutra is maintaining the vulnerabilities related to mobile operating systems in the Mobile Vulnerability Database (MVD). Varutra has developed the MVD application for the Android platform which identifies vulnerabilities on the Android operating system and provides detailed vulnerability reports, and which is freely available on Playstore for all Android users. The applications for other platforms are under development and will be available very soon for iOS, Windows and Blackberry.

MVD (Mobile Vulnerability Database):

Mobile Vulnerability Database, or MVD, is a unique place to find out about vulnerabilities reported worldwide for Mobile Platforms.

A user can browse through vulnerabilities specific to their mobile platform and the particular version. The objective of MVD is to give a common place for mobile users to get acquainted with the vulnerabilities that might exist on their devices. Users can choose to receive specific vulnerability details as a report via Email.

Platforms covered by MVD

At present MVD covers major mobile smartphone platforms such as Android, Blackberry, iOS and Windows Phone.

MVD Web Application:

MVD is also available in web interface where users can search and gather information related to mobile operating system vulnerabilities by simply searching by the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE ID) vulnerability category.

A user can browse through vulnerabilities specific to their mobile platform and the particular version. The objective is to give a common place for mobile users to get acquainted with what vulnerabilities might exist on their devices. Additionally, users can choose to receive specific vulnerability details as a report via Email.

For more information: http://varutra.com/mvd/

MVD Platforms:

MVD is developed for mobile operating systems such as Android, iOS, BlackBerry and Windows

Terminologies related to MVD

What is KVID?

KALP Varutra ID (KVID) is a unique number assigned to each reported vulnerability; maintained in the MVD database by the Varutra team.

E.g. KVA01 for Android, KVB01 for Blackberry, KVI01 for iOS and KVW01 for Windows Phone

Note: KALP stands for Knowledge Attained Learn Process. It is a blog for information published on the World Wide Web and consisting of discrete entries (“posts”) typically displayed in reverse chronological order.

What is CVE?

Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) is a dictionary of common names (CVE Identifiers) for publicly known information security vulnerabilities maintained by the MITRE Corporation. The goal of CVE is to make it easier to share data across separate vulnerability capabilities (tools, repositories, and services) with this “common enumeration.”

For more information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Vulnerabilities_and_Exposures

What is CVSS?

Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) is a vendor agnostic, industry open standard designed to convey the severity of vulnerabilities. CVSS scores may be used to determine the urgency for update deployment within an organization.

For more information:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CVSS

CVSS scores can range from 0.0 (no vulnerability) to 10.0 (critical).

E.g. BlackBerry uses CVSS in vulnerability assessments to present an immutable characterization of security issues. BlackBerry assigns all relevant security issues a non-zero score. Customers performing their own risk assessments of vulnerabilities that may impact them can benefit from using the same industry-recognized CVSS metrics.

MVD Feature:

How to get the Vulnerability Report on Email?

The user can register with their Name and Email ID on Register for Vulnerability Report and then select the required platform and version to receive the report. A module is being implementing where once a user is registered they will get automatic updates for any new vulnerabilities reported in the platform and version specifically chosen by the user.

 Users can now access the MVD on their Android Smartphones, Tablets.

The MVD Android application covers major mobile smartphone / tablet platforms such as Android, Blackberry, iOS and Windows Phone. Users can register with their Name and Email ID on “Register for Vulnerability Report” and then select the desired mobile platform and version to receive the report. Users can also download the MVD Android application on your device from Google Play:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.varutra.mobilevulndb&hl=en

 Conclusion: 

MVD very useful for mobile phone users who are interested in knowing the vulnerabilities in their Android phone and want to mitigate the vulnerabilities. Additionally, MVD is useful for security researchers interested in knowing the vulnerabilities present in multiple mobile operating systems.

For more Details reading Pentestmag

Author:

Mr. Chetan Gulhane

Security Consultant, Varutra Consulting Pvt. Ltd.