CVE-2015-9054
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 NULL pointer can be dereferenced during GAL decoding.
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 NULL pointer dereference vulnerability exists in the Linux kernel's Graphics Abstraction Layer (GAL) decoding functionality within Qualcomm's Code Aurora Forum (CAF) Android releases. The vulnerability occurs when the GAL decoder attempts to access memory through a NULL pointer during the decoding process, potentially leading to a kernel panic or 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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Identify the kernel version running on the deviceRun 'uname -a' or 'cat /proc/version' to obtain the kernel version stringAffected if The kernel version is from an older Qualcomm CAF release prior to the security patch date for CVE-2015-9054 and matches CAF build patterns (often contains 'caf', 'qcom', or 'LE.UM' versioning)
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Confirm the device uses a Qualcomm SoC with CAF kernelCheck /proc/config.gz (if available) or boot logs for 'qcom', 'msm', or 'Qualcomm' identifiers, or check /sys/firmware/devicetree/base/model for Qualcomm platform stringsAffected if The device runs a Qualcomm-based Android device with a Code Aurora Forum (CAF) kernel build rather than a stock Google/AOSP kernel
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Verify the GAL decoder component is presentCheck for the presence of video/GAL driver modules: 'ls -la /proc/galcore' or grep for 'galcore' in /proc/modules; also check /dev for video driver nodesAffected if A Qualcomm Adreno/VPU graphics driver (galcore) is loaded, indicating the vulnerable GAL decoding path exists on the device
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Check for known vulnerable kernel configurationsReview /proc/cmdline and kernel config (if accessible) for debugging options that may expose the NULL pointer condition; also check dmesg for any prior galcore/graphics driver warningsAffected if The kernel has graphics driver debugging enabled or has previously logged galcore-related errors that could indicate the vulnerability trigger condition
A device is affected if it runs a Qualcomm CAF-built Android kernel with the galcore graphics driver present, where the kernel version predates the CVE-2015-9054 patch release.
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 Qualcomm/CAF kernel security patches for this vulnerability. Due to the kernel-level nature of this flaw, updating to a patched Android release from the vendor is the primary remediation path. Organizations should prioritize patching affected mobile devices given the critical CVSS score.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA8.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-9054 — 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-2015-9054 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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