dbcve.org
Mdm9635m FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2014-9985

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-04-18
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 Android before 2018-04-05 or earlier security patch level on Qualcomm Snapdragon Mobile MDM9635M, SD 400, and SD 800, TOCTOU condition may result in bypassing error condition checks, leading to undefined behavior.

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 confidence

A Time-of-Check to Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) race condition in Qualcomm Snapdragon baseband/firmware (MDM9635M, SD 400, SD 800) allows bypassing error condition checks, leading to undefined behavior. This is a low-level firmware vulnerability in the mobile device's cellular baseband processor.

MitigationApply Android security patch level 2018-04-05 or later to affected devices. If devices cannot be patched, consider replacement as this is a hardware/firmware-level issue.

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
Mdm9635m FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 400 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 800 FirmwareOperating 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 the device chipset model
    Check the device specifications or use system information tools to determine if the device uses Qualcomm MDM9635M, Snapdragon 400 (SD 400), or Snapdragon 800 (SD 800) chipsets
    Affected if The device uses any of these three chipset models (MDM9635M, SD 400, or SD 800)
  2. Check the Android security patch level
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Software Information > Android security patch level, or use 'adb shell getprop ro.build.version.security_patch'
    Affected if The security patch level is earlier than 2018-04-05 or cannot be determined
  3. Verify the baseband firmware version
    Check Settings > About Phone > Baseband version, or use 'adb shell getprop gsm.version.baseband'
    Affected if The baseband version is present but the device has not received the 2018-04-05 security update
  4. Confirm the device is a mobile phone or tablet
    Verify the device is a mobile device with cellular baseband capabilities (not a Wi-Fi-only device)
    Affected if The device has cellular connectivity and uses one of the affected Qualcomm baseband processors

A device is affected if it uses a Qualcomm MDM9635M, SD 400, or SD 800 baseband processor and has not received the Android security patch level 2018-04-05 or later.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply Android security patch level 2018-04-05 or later to affected devices. If devices cannot be patched, consider replacement as this is a hardware/firmware-level issue.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Android devices with security patch level April 5, 2018 or later (2018-04-05 security bulletin)

  1. 1. Identify the current Android security patch level on the affected device by going to Settings > About Phone > Security patch level
  2. 2. If the security patch level is earlier than April 5, 2018, check if the device manufacturer has released a firmware update
  3. 3. Contact the device manufacturer (OEM) to request the April 2018 security update or later for your specific device model
  4. 4. Apply the available system/firmware update that includes the 2018-04-05 or later Android security bulletin
  5. 5. Verify the security patch level has been updated to April 5, 2018 or later after the update
Caveat Older devices (SD 400, SD 800, MDM9635M are legacy chipsets from 2012-2013) may no longer receive manufacturer updates; some devices may be end-of-life and require hardware replacement

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Mdm9635m Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,840
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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-2014-9985 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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