CVE-2014-9782
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · unediteddrivers/media/platform/msm/camera_v2/sensor/actuator/msm_actuator.c in the Qualcomm components in Android before 2016-07-05 on Nexus 5 and 7 (2013) devices does not validate direction and step parameters, which allows attackers to gain privileges via a crafted application, aka Android internal bug 28431531 and Qualcomm internal bug CR511349.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceThis is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in the Qualcomm camera actuator driver (msm_actuator.c) used in Android devices. The driver fails to validate direction and step parameters when controlling the camera lens actuator, allowing a malicious application to potentially send crafted parameters that could lead to elevation of privileges from user space to kernel/driver level.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data<= 6.0.1CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check Android versionGo to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADBAffected if Version is 6.0.1 or lower (Android Marshmallow and earlier)
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Verify Qualcomm chipsetCheck device specifications or run 'getprop ro.hardware' via ADB to identify the chipset manufacturerAffected if Device uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset that includes the msm_actuator camera driver
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Confirm msm_actuator driver presenceCheck for the presence of /dev/msm_actuator or inspect kernel modules via 'ls -la /dev/msm_actuator' or check /proc/modules via ADBAffected if The msm_actuator device or driver is present and accessible on the device
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Verify kernel patch statusCheck the kernel version via 'uname -r' via ADB or review the SELinux/kernel audit logs for any actuator-related errorsAffected if Kernel is older than the July 2016 Android security patch level and shows no evidence of direction/step parameter validation in the driver
The device is affected if it runs Android 6.0.1 or earlier, uses a Qualcomm chipset with the msm_actuator driver, and has not received the July 2016 security patch.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataApply the Android security patch released on or after 2016-07-05 which includes proper validation of direction and step parameters in the msm_actuator.c driver. For affected devices no longer receiving updates, consider retiring or isolating the devices.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,808.
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2014-9782 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2014-9782 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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