CVE-2015-9039
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, a vulnerability exists in eMBMS where an assertion can be reached by a sequence of downlink messages.
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 logic vulnerability in Qualcomm's eMBMS (evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service) implementation allows an attacker to trigger a kernel assertion failure via a crafted sequence of downlink messages. The vulnerability exists in the Linux kernel code maintained by Code Aurora Forum (CAF) for Android, and reaching the assertion causes a kernel panic or crash, resulting in denial of service.
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 Qualcomm chipset usageCheck /proc/cpuinfo or device specifications for Qualcomm processor identifierAffected if Device does not use a Qualcomm chipset (the vulnerability is Qualcomm-specific)
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Verify eMBMS feature presenceCheck kernel configuration (CONFIG_IP_MCAST or specific eMBMS modules) or examine /proc/modules for eMBMS-related modulesAffected if eMBMS feature is not compiled into or loaded by the kernel (the vulnerability requires eMBMS to be present)
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Identify kernel source vendorRun 'uname -a' or check /proc/version to examine the kernel build string for Code Aurora Forum (CAF) or Qualcomm identifiersAffected if Kernel is not built from Qualcomm/CAF sources (the vulnerable code exists only in CAF-maintained kernel trees)
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Check Android framework eMBMS supportInspect /system/etc/permissions or vendor-specific configurations for eMBMS-related permissions and servicesAffected if Android framework does not include eMBMS broadcast/multicast support services
The device is affected if it runs a Qualcomm-based Android kernel from CAF sources with eMBMS feature enabled, as the logic flaw in eMBMS downlink message handling can trigger the kernel assertion failure.
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-supplied kernel security updates from Qualcomm/CAF that address this eMBMS assertion vulnerability. Prioritize patching given the critical CVSS 9.8 severity and potential for remoteDoS against affected devices.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 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 $8,192.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-9039 — 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-2015-9039 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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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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