CVE-2015-8890
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 · uneditedplatform/msm_shared/partition_parser.c in the Qualcomm components in Android before 2016-07-05 on Nexus 5 and 7 (2013) devices does not validate certain GUID Partition Table (GPT) data, which allows attackers to bypass intended access restrictions via a crafted MultiMediaCard (MMC), aka Android internal bug 28822878 and Qualcomm internal bug CR823461.
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 confidenceThe vulnerability exists in the partition_parser.c file within Qualcomm's Android components for Nexus 5 and 7 (2013) devices. The code fails to validate GUID Partition Table (GPT) data read from MultiMediaCard (MMC) storage, allowing a physically present attacker with a crafted MMC to bypass security restrictions by injecting malicious partition information.
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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Identify device modelCheck if the device is a Nexus 5 (hammerhead) or Nexus 7 2013 (flo/deb) - these are the only affected models. Use 'getprop ro.product.device' or 'getprop ro.build.product' in ADB shell.Affected if Device model is NOT Nexus 5 or Nexus 7 (2013)
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Check Android versionRun 'getprop ro.build.version.release' in ADB shell to determine the installed Android version.Affected if Android version is greater than 6.0.1 (the device is patched)
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Verify Qualcomm bootloader componentCheck for the presence of the partition_parser.c component in the device firmware. This is typically found in the bootloader partition. Use 'cat /proc/cmdline' or inspect the boot.img if you have root access to look for Qualcomm-related partition handling code.Affected if The partition_parser.c file with the vulnerable GPT parsing code is present on the device
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Confirm MMC storage usageVerify the device uses eMMC/MMC storage for primary storage by checking 'ls -la /dev/block' or 'cat /proc/mounts' to see how partitions are mounted and handled.Affected if The device reads GPT partition tables from MMC storage (this is the attack surface)
A user is affected if they are using a Nexus 5 or Nexus 7 (2013) device with Android version 6.0.1 or lower, where the device's bootloader contains the vulnerable partition_parser.c code that reads unvalidated GPT data from MMC storage.
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 July 2016 Android security patch (or later) which contains the validated GPT parsing fix. For devices no longer receiving updates, consider implementing additional application-layer integrity checks for storage partition validation.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-8890 — 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-2015-8890 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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