Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-52116

Huawei Harmonyos 2.0.0 … 4.0.0

Published
16 January 2024
Modified
02 June 2025
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.5
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0035 28th percentile
Risk Priority 57 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-52116 is a high-severity Improper Privilege Management (CWE-269) vulnerability in Huawei Harmonyos. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism (T1548); ranked at the 28th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-2 (Account Management) and AC-24 (Access Control Decisions) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A01:2025 Broken Access ControlA06:2025 Insecure Design

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Permission management vulnerability in the multi-screen interaction module. Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may cause service exceptions of the device.

CWE(s)
CWE-269CWE-732

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1548 Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may circumvent mechanisms designed to control privilege elevation to gain higher-level permissions.
attack.mitre.org →
T1552.001 Credentials In Files Credential Access
Adversaries may search local file systems and remote file shares for files containing insecurely stored credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
T1552.004 Private Keys Credential Access
Adversaries may search for private key certificate files on compromised systems for insecurely stored credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
T1574.005 Executable Installer File Permissions Weakness Stealth
Adversaries may execute their own malicious payloads by hijacking the binaries used by an installer.
attack.mitre.org →
T1574.010 Services File Permissions Weakness Stealth
Adversaries may execute their own malicious payloads by hijacking the binaries used by services.
attack.mitre.org →
T1134 Access Token Manipulation Stealth
Adversaries may modify access tokens to operate under a different user or system security context to perform actions and bypass access controls.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-52107Same product: Huawei Emui
CVE-2023-41295Same product: Huawei Emui
CVE-2023-52388Same product: Huawei Emui
CVE-2024-30413Same product: Huawei Emui
CVE-2023-1692Same product: Huawei Emui
CVE-2023-52554Same product: Huawei Emui
CVE-2023-4565Same product: Huawei Emui
CVE-2023-44105Same product: Huawei Emui
CVE-2023-41312Same product: Huawei Emui
CVE-2024-36500Same product: Huawei Emui

Affected Assets

huawei
emui
11.0.1, 12.0.0, 13.0.0
huawei
harmonyos
2.0.0, 2.1.0, 3.0.0, 3.1.0, 4.0.0

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 12 hardening rules · 6 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

—

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

AC-3 Access Enforcement good match

Enforces the access control policy that defines permissions on resources, thereby stopping incorrect assignments from remaining exploitable.

AC-2 Account Management good match

Account management directly governs assignment and tracking of privileges so proper implementation stops the weakness from being introduced.

AC-24 Access Control Decisions good match

Requiring explicit access-control decisions ensures privileges are evaluated rather than assumed or omitted.

AC-5 Separation of Duties good match

Separation of duties constrains how privileges may be assigned, reducing the chance of overly broad actor control.

AC-6 Least Privilege good match

Least privilege is the direct countermeasure to improper privilege management; implementing it eliminates the root cause.

AC-16 Security and Privacy Attributes partial match

Binding security attributes to subjects/objects supplies the mechanism needed to track and enforce privileges correctly.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.AA-05 full match
prevents

Directly requires defining, enforcing, and reviewing access permissions and least privilege on resources.

PR.PS-01 mostly match
prevents

Hardened baselines and configuration management explicitly include correct permission settings for critical resources.

PR.AA-01 partial match
prevents

PR.AA-01 supplies credential/identity lifecycle support that can reduce some privilege-assignment errors but does not itself assign, modify, or check privileges, leaving most of CWE-269's risk unaddressed.

PR.PS-05 partial match
prevents

PR.PS-05 can partially limit exploitability of some privilege issues via execution restrictions, but does not address the core design/implementation flaws of CWE-269 at all.

PR.DS-10 none match
prevents

PR.DS-10 protects data-in-use without touching privilege assignment/tracking, so it neither prevents CWE-269 nor removes more than one narrow facet of its risk.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.5.15 Access control mostly match
prevents

By requiring owners to determine and document the exact permissions needed for each asset, the control reduces the likelihood that default or overly permissive file and resource permissions will be left in place.

A.5.18 Access rights mostly match
prevents

Requiring owner approval, segregation of duties, and periodic reviews prevents the assignment of excessive or unnecessary privileges to users or processes.

A.8.2 Privileged access rights mostly match
prevents

Enforcing minimum-necessary privileges, temporary grants, and separation of administrative versus normal identities prevents the over-assignment of rights that CWE-269 describes.

A.8.3 Information access restriction mostly match
prevents

Dynamic techniques that grant the minimum necessary rights for a given time window and revoke them afterward reduce the window in which excessive or unnecessary privileges can be exploited.

A.8.4 Access to source code mostly match
prevents

Enforcing differentiated permissions on the source-code repository and program listings stops the assignment of overly broad default or inherited permissions to critical resources.

A.8.9 Configuration management mostly match
prevents

By defining and enforcing secure permission settings in configuration templates, the control reduces the likelihood that critical resources receive incorrect permission assignments.

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Oracle Linux 8 (1 rule)
  • V-248577 OL 8 must enable kernel parameters to enforce Discretionary Access Control (DAC) on symlinks. prevents CWE-732
Windows 10 (1 rule)
  • V-220712 Only accounts responsible for the administration of a system must have Administrator rights on the system. prevents CWE-269
Windows 11 (1 rule)
  • V-253269 Only accounts responsible for the administration of a system must have Administrator rights on the system. prevents CWE-269
Windows Server 2016 (3 rules)
  • V-224972 Active Directory Group Policy objects must have proper access control permissions. prevents CWE-732
  • V-225007 Only administrators responsible for the member server or standalone or nondomain-joined system must have Administrator rights on the system. prevents CWE-269
  • V-224831 Local volumes must use a format that supports NTFS attributes. prevents CWE-732
Windows Server 2019 (3 rules)
  • V-205741 Windows Server 2019 Active Directory Group Policy objects must have proper access control permissions. prevents CWE-732
  • V-205746 Windows Server 2019 must only allow Administrators responsible for the member server or standalone or nondomain-joined system to have Administrator rights on the system. prevents CWE-269
  • V-205663 Windows Server 2019 local volumes must use a format that supports NTFS attributes. prevents CWE-732
Windows Server 2022 (3 rules)
  • V-254393 Windows Server 2022 Active Directory Group Policy objects must have proper access control permissions. prevents CWE-732
  • V-254428 Windows Server 2022 must only allow administrators responsible for the member server or standalone or nondomain-joined system to have Administrator rights on the system. prevents CWE-269
  • V-254250 Windows Server 2022 local volumes must use a format that supports NTFS attributes. prevents CWE-732

References