AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2014-9975

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-08-18
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
In all Qualcomm products with Android releases from CAF using the Linux kernel, a rollback vulnerability potentially exists in Full Disk Encryption.

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 · low confidence

A rollback vulnerability in Qualcomm Full Disk Encryption (FDE) implementation for Android using the Linux kernel. The flaw potentially allows an attacker to revert encryption to a previous, weaker state, bypassing current protections.

MitigationApply vendor-supplied firmware and kernel security updates from Qualcomm/CAF for Android releases. Verify FDE integrity mechanisms prevent rollback of encryption parameters.

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
AndroidOperating system
Affected:all versions

CVSS 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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify Qualcomm FDE implementation
    Check if the device uses Qualcomm FDE by reviewing the device's hardware specifications, bootloader, or encryption settings. Qualcomm FDE is typically found on devices with Qualcomm Snapdragon processors.
    Affected if Device uses Qualcomm Snapdragon hardware with FDE enabled and Android is present
  2. Verify Android version
    Check the installed Android version via Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' in ADB shell.
    Affected if Device runs any version of Android on affected Qualcomm hardware
  3. Confirm Full Disk Encryption is enabled
    Check FDE status by going to Settings > Security > Encryption, or run 'vdc fstrim' and check for encryption-related flags in 'getprop' output.
    Affected if FDE is actively enabled on the device
  4. Inspect bootloader integrity state
    Check bootloader unlock status via 'fastboot oem device-info' or review bootloader warnings at boot. A vulnerable state may allow reversion of encryption parameters.
    Affected if Bootloader shows as unlocked or tampered, allowing potential rollback of encryption parameters
  5. Check for vendor security updates
    Verify if the device has received Qualcomm/CAF firmware updates by checking the kernel version via 'uname -a' or checking for available system updates in Settings > System > Security.
    Affected if Kernel version or firmware lacks the specific CVE-2014-9975 fix from Qualcomm/CAF

User is affected if the device runs Android on Qualcomm FDE hardware with encryption enabled, without the specific Qualcomm/CAF firmware patch applied.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply vendor-supplied firmware and kernel security updates from Qualcomm/CAF for Android releases. Verify FDE integrity mechanisms prevent rollback of encryption parameters.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
40.0 hours of engineering $6,920
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $11,072.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2014-9975 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2014-9975 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data