CVE-2015-9029
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 · uneditedIn all Android releases from CAF using the Linux kernel, a vulnerability exists in the access control settings of modem memory.
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 confidenceA vulnerability exists in the access control settings of modem memory in all Android releases from CAF using the Linux kernel. This local privilege escalation issue allows improper access to modem memory regions due to misconfigured access controls, potentially enabling an attacker to read or modify sensitive modem data.
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 dataall versionsCVSS 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 Android version and kernel versionGo to Settings > About Phone and note the Android version. Use 'uname -a' in a terminal or ADB shell to get the kernel version.Affected if Running any Android version from CAF with a Linux kernel - all versions are affected if unpatched
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Check security patch levelGo to Settings > About Phone > Software Information and look for 'Security patch level' date. Compare this to the date when the CVE was addressed (CVE-2015-9029 was addressed in 2015-2016 timeframe).Affected if Security patch level is empty, missing, or predates mid-2016, indicating the vulnerability likely remains unpatched
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Verify modem memory access controls existCheck kernel configuration for relevant settings: look for CONFIG_MODEM_.*_PROTECTION or similar modem memory isolation flags in /proc/config.gz or kernel config files if accessible via root.Affected if Kernel lacks modem memory access control configurations or shows misconfigured permissions on /dev/modem or similar modem memory interfaces
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Inspect modem memory device permissionsUse 'ls -la /dev/mem' or check /dev/modem* device node permissions. Also check /proc/meminfo for any unusual memory region mappings accessible from userspace.Affected if Non-privileged users can read from or write to /dev/mem or modem memory regions without elevation, indicating the access control flaw is present
A device is likely affected if it runs an unpatched CAF Android kernel with missing or misconfigured modem memory access controls and has not received security updates addressing this privilege escalation vulnerability.
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 vendor-specific kernel patches and firmware updates from CAF/Android releases that address the modem memory access control vulnerability. Users should ensure their devices run the latest manufacturer-provided security updates.
- 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-2015-9029 — 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-2015-9029 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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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.
- 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
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