Saint Qu1ckR00t, Who Gave Root in a Hurry

Patron of Android phones, the binder driver, and zero-days exploited before the alarm was raised.

Life

On 26 September 2019 Google's Project Zero reported a use-after-free in the Linux kernel's binder driver, the heart of communication between Android processes. The flaw, already used in real attacks and linked to spyware vendors, let a malicious app climb up to kernel privileges. Exploits soon appeared, nicknamed Qu1ckR00t, because they reached root without much ceremony.

Prayer

O Saint Qu1ckR00t, who reach root by the shortest road, let our drivers free memory once and for real. Amen.

How to celebrate

Celebrated by installing the October 2019 Android security patch, or the most recent one the phone will accept.

Memory freed twice, root served in haste.