CVE-2014-9909
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 · uneditedAn elevation of privilege vulnerability in the Broadcom Wi-Fi driver could enable a local malicious application to execute arbitrary code within the context of the kernel. This issue is rated as High because it first requires compromising a privileged process. Product: Android. Versions: N/A. Android ID: A-31676542. References: B-RB#26684.
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 · moderate confidenceThis is an elevation of privilege vulnerability in the Broadcom Wi-Fi driver for Android that allows a local malicious application to execute arbitrary code within kernel context. The vulnerability requires an attacker to first compromise a privileged process before exploiting the Wi-Fi driver flaw to gain kernel-level access.
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<= 7.1.0CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/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 (or About Device) > Android version. Alternatively, run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shell.Affected if The Android version is 7.1.0 or earlier (any version <= 7.1.0).
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Verify Broadcom Wi-Fi driver is presentCheck the device's Wi-Fi chipset manufacturer via Settings > About Phone > Wi-Fi MAC address, or via 'getprop ro.wifi.driver' or 'ls /system/lib/modules/' in ADB shell. Broadcom chipsets are typically identified by 'bcm' in module names or driver files.Affected if The device uses a Broadcom Wi-Fi chipset and driver.
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Check security patch levelGo to Settings > About Phone > Security patch level. Alternatively, run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADB shell.Affected if The security patch level is earlier than the vendor patch for A-31676542, or the patch level is not displayed/empty.
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Assess application installation sourcesGo to Settings > Security > Unknown sources (or Settings > Apps > Special access > Install unknown apps) to check if installation from unknown sources is enabled.Affected if Installation of apps from unknown sources is enabled, providing a potential attack vector for the initial compromise required by this vulnerability.
A user is affected if their Android device runs version 7.1.0 or earlier, uses a Broadcom Wi-Fi driver, and has not received the vendor-specific security patch for A-31676542.
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 vendor-specific security patch for Android (A-31676542) or kernel/Wi-Fi driver update from the device OEM. Until patched, restrict installation of applications from unknown sources and monitor for suspicious Wi-Fi driver behavior.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation24.0 h
- Testing16.0 h
- Review / QA8.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2014-9909 — 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-2014-9909 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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