AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2015-9064

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, the UE can send IMEI or IMEISV to the network on a network request before NAS security has been activated.

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

In Qualcomm baseband/modem firmware used in Android devices with CAF (Code Aurora Forum) Linux kernels, the device sends IMEI or IMEISV identifiers to the network in plaintext before NAS (Non-Access Stratum) security is activated. This allows unauthenticated disclosure of the device's unique hardware identifier before any encryption or integrity protection is established.

MitigationApply vendor firmware updates from Qualcomm or device OEMs that patch the baseband modem to delay IMEI/IMEISV transmission until after NAS security context is established. Until then, network-side monitoring may detect vulnerable devices.

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. Confirm device uses Qualcomm baseband/modem
    Check device specifications or run 'AT+CGMM' via terminal app with AT command access to query modem model
    Affected if Device uses Qualcomm Snapdragon or other Qualcomm baseband processor
  2. Check baseband firmware version
    Navigate to Settings > About Phone > Baseband version, or use 'AT+CGMR' command to query modem firmware revision
    Affected if Baseband version cannot be verified or is from unpatched Qualcomm CAF kernel builds
  3. Inspect network traffic before NAS security
    Use network capture tool to observe initial attach procedure - look for IMEI (TMSI/IMSI) or IMEISV transmitted in plaintext before Authentication and Encryption messages
    Affected if IMEI or IMEISV appears in plaintext network traffic during initial attach before security context is established

A user is affected if their Android device uses Qualcomm baseband firmware and transmits IMEI/IMEISV in plaintext before NAS security activation, which can only be reliably confirmed via network-side traffic analysis or vendor firmware confirmation.

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 firmware updates from Qualcomm or device OEMs that patch the baseband modem to delay IMEI/IMEISV transmission until after NAS security context is established. Until then, network-side monitoring may detect vulnerable devices.

Recommended fix Low confidence
  1. 1. Contact your device manufacturer (OEM) to request a firmware/security update that addresses this vulnerability.
  2. 2. Apply any available Android security patches released after May 2016, as this CVE was addressed in that timeframe.
  3. 3. Verify with your carrier that your device's modem/baseband firmware is up to date.
  4. 4. If no update is available from your manufacturer, consider migrating to a device model that receives regular security updates.
Caveat Firmware updates for baseband/modem components typically do not introduce breaking changes but should be applied through official OEM or carrier channels only.

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Testing16.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,720
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $7,552.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-9064 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2015-9064 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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