CVE-2026-24927: Huawei EMUI DOS Vulnerability

CVE-2026-24927 Overview

CVE-2026-24927 is an out-of-bounds access vulnerability in the frequency modulation (FM) module of Huawei EMUI and HarmonyOS. The flaw allows a local authenticated attacker to trigger memory access outside of allocated buffer boundaries. Successful exploitation impacts device availability, typically resulting in a denial-of-service condition such as a system crash or service restart. The vulnerability is categorized as a Use After Free issue [CWE-416], where memory is referenced after it has been freed. Huawei published the advisory in its February 2026 security bulletin covering multiple EMUI and HarmonyOS releases.

Critical Impact

Local attackers with low privileges can trigger out-of-bounds memory access in the FM module, disrupting device availability without requiring user interaction.

Affected Products

• Huawei EMUI 14.0.0, 14.2.0, and 15.0.0
• Huawei HarmonyOS 4.0.0, 4.2.0, 4.3.0, and 4.3.1
• Devices running the frequency modulation module on the above OS versions

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-02-06 - CVE-2026-24927 published to NVD
• 2026-02-09 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-24927

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability resides in the frequency modulation module within Huawei EMUI and HarmonyOS. It is classified as Use After Free [CWE-416], a memory safety defect that produces out-of-bounds access behavior when freed memory regions are referenced again. When triggered, the FM module reads from or writes to memory locations outside the intended bounds, corrupting state managed by the module. The corrupted state propagates to dependent system services, leading to instability or process termination.

The attack requires local access and low-privilege execution on the device. Confidentiality and integrity are not affected by this flaw. Availability impact is high because the FM module is part of the operating system stack and faults propagate to user-facing services.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper lifetime management of objects in the FM module. After a buffer is released, code paths continue to dereference the stale pointer, causing the kernel or system service to access memory that has been reallocated or freed. This produces undefined behavior and an out-of-bounds access condition.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires a local attacker on the device with low-privilege code execution, such as a malicious or compromised application. The attacker sends crafted requests to the FM module to reach the vulnerable code path. No user interaction is required. Because the attack vector is local and impact is limited to availability, the realistic outcome is denial of service rather than code execution or data disclosure.

No public proof-of-concept exploit is available for CVE-2026-24927. See the Huawei Security Bulletin for vendor-provided technical context.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-24927

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected crashes or restarts of the FM service or related media subsystems on EMUI or HarmonyOS devices
• Kernel logs referencing out-of-bounds access or use-after-free conditions in the frequency modulation module
• Repeated low-privileged application calls into FM module interfaces preceding a crash

Detection Strategies

• Review device crash dumps and logcat output for repeated faults originating in the FM module
• Audit installed applications for unauthorized access to FM or radio interfaces on managed mobile fleets
• Correlate application install events with subsequent device instability through mobile device management (MDM) telemetry

Monitoring Recommendations

• Track Huawei EMUI and HarmonyOS patch levels across mobile fleets to confirm the February 2026 bulletin update is applied
• Forward device health and crash telemetry from MDM solutions to a central log platform for anomaly review
• Flag devices with repeated FM module faults for further investigation

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-24927

Immediate Actions Required

• Apply the February 2026 Huawei security update to all affected EMUI 14.0.0, 14.2.0, 15.0.0 and HarmonyOS 4.0.0 through 4.3.1 devices
• Restrict installation of untrusted third-party applications that request access to radio or FM interfaces
• Enforce mobile application allow-lists through MDM on enterprise-managed devices

Patch Information

Huawei published fixes for CVE-2026-24927 in its February 2026 consumer security bulletin. Refer to the Huawei Security Bulletin for the exact build numbers and device-specific update availability.

Workarounds

• Disable or avoid use of the FM radio feature on affected devices until patches are installed
• Limit local application privileges and remove applications from untrusted sources
• Use MDM policies to enforce timely OS updates on managed Huawei devices

# Check current build and security patch level on a Huawei device via ADB
adb shell getprop ro.build.version.emui
adb shell getprop ro.build.version.security_patch
adb shell getprop ro.build.display.id