dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2015-9061

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-08-18
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
In all Qualcomm products with Android releases from CAF using the Linux kernel, playReady DRM failed to check a length potentially leading to unauthorized access to secure 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 confidence

A length check vulnerability exists in Qualcomm's implementation of playReady DRM within Android releases from CAF using the Linux kernel. The missing validation could allow an attacker to trigger out-of-bounds memory access, potentially enabling unauthorized read/write operations to secure memory regions reserved for DRM content protection.

MitigationApply vendor-specific firmware/security patch updates from Qualcomm/OEM device manufacturers. This vulnerability requires a low-level firmware fix and cannot be mitigated through configuration changes.

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
AndroidOperating system
Affected:all versions

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the device chipset
    Check if the Android device uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset. Run 'getprop ro.hardware' or 'getprop ro.chipset' in ADB shell, or check the device specifications.
    Affected if The device uses a Qualcomm chipset - this is a prerequisite for this vulnerability since it exists in Qualcomm's playReady DRM implementation.
  2. Confirm playReady DRM is in use
    Check if playReady DRM is a supported or enabled content protection mechanism on the device. This may be visible in DRM license info ('getprop') or through DRM service status.
    Affected if playReady DRM is implemented and active on the device - the vulnerability exists specifically in Qualcomm's playReady DRM component.
  3. Check Android kernel version
    Run 'uname -r' or 'cat /proc/version' in ADB shell to obtain the kernel version.
    Affected if The kernel version originates from CAF (Code Aurora Forum) builds containing the vulnerable playReady code - the flaw is embedded in the low-level firmware.
  4. Verify security patch level
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' in ADB shell to check the installed Android security patch level.
    Affected if The security patch level is earlier than the vendor release that addresses this CVE - this indicates the firmware has not been updated to fix the missing length check.

The device is affected if it uses a Qualcomm chipset with playReady DRM and the firmware/security patch level has not been updated to address the missing length check vulnerability in the playReady DRM implementation.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply vendor-specific firmware/security patch updates from Qualcomm/OEM device manufacturers. This vulnerability requires a low-level firmware fix and cannot be mitigated through configuration changes.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest Android security patch level (2015 and later monthly patches contain the fix for this CVE)

  1. Check your Android device for available system updates in Settings > System > Software Update
  2. Apply the latest Android security patch update (typically released monthly)
  3. If no update is available, contact your device manufacturer or carrier for patch availability
  4. Verify the installed patch level in Settings > About Phone > Build Number matches the latest available security bulletin

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
30.0 hours of engineering $5,200
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2015-9061 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data