CVE-2015-9036
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 Qualcomm products with Android releases from CAF using the Linux kernel, an incorrect length is used to clear a memory buffer resulting in adjacent memory getting corrupted.
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 confidenceA memory corruption vulnerability exists in Qualcomm's Linux kernel code used in Android releases from CAF (Code Aurora Forum). The flaw involves using an incorrect length value when clearing a memory buffer, which causes the memory clearing operation to overflow into adjacent memory regions, corrupting 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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm device runs AndroidIdentify the operating system version on the device. On Android, go to Settings > About Phone > Android versionAffected if The device does not run Android (this CVE does not apply)
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Verify device uses Qualcomm chipsetCheck the device specifications or use commands like 'getprop' on Android to inspect ro.product.brand, ro.hardware, or ro.board.platform propertiesAffected if The device does not use Qualcomm components (the vulnerable code is in Qualcomm's Linux kernel)
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Identify the kernel and CAF versionOn Android, use 'uname -a' to check kernel version, or inspect /proc/version. Check for Qualcomm CAF (Code Aurora Forum) kernel patches by examining the kernel source or /proc/version string for 'CAF' or 'Qualcomm' identifiersAffected if The kernel contains Qualcomm CAF code (the vulnerability exists in this specific code)
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Check for the vulnerable memory clearing codeInspect the kernel source code or binary for the flawed buffer clearing operation using incorrect length values. Look for memset or similar functions operating on memory buffers in Qualcomm's kernel modules related to the affected componentAffected if The vulnerable code pattern is present in the kernel
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Review security patch levelOn Android, check Settings > About Phone > Security patch level to see the installed security updateAffected if The security patch level is older than the CVE publication date (early 2015) and the device has not received CVE-specific patches
A defender is affected if their Android device uses Qualcomm chipset/kernel components and has not received vendor-supplied security patches addressing this memory corruption flaw.
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 dataOrganizations should identify and inventory all affected Qualcomm-based Android devices, then apply vendor-supplied firmware/security patches as they become available. Until patches are deployed, network segmentation may help limit exposure.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA6.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,320.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-9036 — 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-2015-9036 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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