dbcve.org
Mdm9625 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2015-9109

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-04-18
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 Android before 2018-04-05 or earlier security patch level on Qualcomm Snapdragon Automobile and Snapdragon Mobile MDM9625, SD 425, SD 430, SD 450, SD 625, SD 650/52, SD 820, and SD 820A, lack of address argument validation inqsee_fuse_write could lead to untrusted pointer dereference.

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 confidence

A missing address validation vulnerability in qsee_fuse_write within Qualcomm's Secure Execution Environment (QSEE) allows untrusted pointer dereference. This affects specific Snapdragon mobile and automotive processors (MDM9625, SD 425, SD 430, SD 450, SD 625, SD 650/52, SD 820, SD 820A) running Android before the 2018-04-05 security patch level, potentially enabling privilege escalation or code execution in the trusted execution environment.

MitigationApply the 2018-04-05 or later Android security patch level, which includes the vendor-specific fix for address validation in qsee_fuse_write. Coordinate with affected device OEMs for firmware-level updates where the security patch is not available.

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
Mdm9625 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 425 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 430 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 450 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 625 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 650 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 652 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 820a FirmwareOperating 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 processor model
    Check the processor/model via Settings > About Phone, or run 'getprop ro.hardware' or 'getprop ro.product.device' in ADB shell to identify the chipset
    Affected if The processor is one of: MDM9625, SD 425, SD 430, SD 450, SD 625, SD 650, SD 652, or SD 820A
  2. Verify the Android security patch level
    Check Settings > About Phone > Android security patch level, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' in ADB shell
    Affected if The security patch level is earlier than 2018-04-05 (for example, 2018-03-05 or earlier)
  3. Confirm the vulnerability context exists
    This vulnerability resides in QSEE (Qualcomm Secure Execution Environment) firmware and is not directly inspectable from user space. The combination of an affected processor model AND a pre-2018-04-05 patch level indicates the device may be vulnerable
    Affected if Both conditions are true: (1) affected Snapdragon model is present AND (2) security patch level predates the 2018-04-05 fix

A device is potentially affected if it contains one of the listed Qualcomm Snapdragon processors (MDM9625, SD 425, SD 430, SD 450, SD 625, SD 650, SD 652, SD 820A) and has not received the April 2018 or later Android security patch level.

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 the 2018-04-05 or later Android security patch level, which includes the vendor-specific fix for address validation in qsee_fuse_write. Coordinate with affected device OEMs for firmware-level updates where the security patch is not available.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android security patch level 2018-04-05 or later; or Qualcomm firmware update containing the qsee_fuse_write address validation fix

  1. Contact your device manufacturer (OEM) to obtain the firmware/security patch update that addresses CVE-2015-9109
  2. Verify your device is running Android security patch level dated 2018-04-05 or later, as this vulnerability was addressed in the April 2018 Android security bulletin
  3. If your device manufacturer no longer provides updates, consider upgrading to a device that receives regular security patches
  4. For embedded/IoT devices using affected Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets, contact the hardware vendor for firmware updates addressing the qsee_fuse_write vulnerability
Caveat Firmware updates may have compatibility considerations; ensure backup of critical data before applying OEM updates

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

Fix this in Mdm9625 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing16.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
36.0 hours of engineering $6,160
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $9,856.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-9109 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2015-9109 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