CVE-2025-53168 is a medium-severity vulnerability identified in Huawei's HarmonyOS versions 5.0.1 and 5.1.0. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-275, which relates to permission issues. Specifically, this flaw allows an attacker on a peer device within a distributed system to bypass the normal process required to start the Security Agent (SA) and subsequently use camera-related functions without the user's knowledge or consent. The vulnerability arises from improper permission enforcement, enabling unauthorized access to distributed cameras. Exploitation does not require user interaction but does require some level of privileges on the attacking device (low privileges). The CVSS 3.1 score is 5.7, reflecting a medium severity with high confidentiality impact but no impact on integrity or availability. The attack vector is adjacent network (AV:A), meaning the attacker must be on the same or a closely connected network segment. The vulnerability does not appear to have known exploits in the wild yet, and no patches have been linked or published at the time of this report. The technical details indicate that the flaw allows unauthorized camera access, which could lead to significant privacy violations, as attackers could covertly capture video or images without user awareness. The lack of user interaction required increases the risk of stealthy exploitation in environments where distributed cameras are used, such as smart homes, offices, or industrial settings using HarmonyOS devices.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a significant privacy and confidentiality risk, especially for entities using Huawei HarmonyOS devices with distributed camera capabilities. Sectors such as government, critical infrastructure, corporate offices, and smart city deployments that rely on distributed cameras for security or monitoring could be targeted for covert surveillance. The ability to access cameras without user awareness could lead to unauthorized data collection, espionage, or violation of GDPR privacy regulations, potentially resulting in legal and reputational damage. Since the attack requires network adjacency and low privileges, insider threats or compromised devices within the same network segment could exploit this vulnerability. The impact is primarily on confidentiality, with no direct effect on system integrity or availability, but the covert nature of the attack increases the risk of undetected breaches. Organizations with distributed IoT or smart devices running HarmonyOS should be particularly vigilant.

1. Network Segmentation: Isolate devices running HarmonyOS with distributed camera capabilities on separate network segments with strict access controls to limit adjacency to trusted devices only. 2. Privilege Management: Enforce strict privilege separation and monitor for unauthorized privilege escalations on devices within the network. 3. Monitoring and Logging: Implement enhanced monitoring of camera access logs and network traffic to detect unusual or unauthorized camera usage patterns. 4. Device Inventory and Patch Management: Maintain an up-to-date inventory of HarmonyOS devices and apply security updates promptly once patches become available from Huawei. 5. Access Control Policies: Configure device and network-level access controls to restrict camera usage to authorized applications and users only. 6. User Awareness: Educate users about the risks of unauthorized camera access and encourage reporting of suspicious device behavior. 7. Vendor Engagement: Engage with Huawei for timely security advisories and patches, and consider alternative solutions if timely remediation is not feasible. 8. Incident Response Preparedness: Develop and test incident response plans specifically addressing unauthorized camera access scenarios.