dbcve.org
Mdm9625 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2015-9113

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 810, SD 820, and SD 820A, untrusted pointer dereference in QSEE Syscall without proper validation can lead to access of blacklisted 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

This is an untrusted pointer dereference vulnerability in Qualcomm's QSEE (Qualcomm Secure Execution Environment) syscall handler. The lack of proper validation in the syscall allows an attacker to access blacklisted memory regions, potentially achieving privilege escalation from the normal world to the trusted execution environment.

MitigationApply Android security patch level 2018-04-05 or later to affected devices. This is a firmware-level fix requiring vendor-provided system updates; there is no application-level remediation.

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 810 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 chipset model
    Determine the Qualcomm processor model in the device (e.g., check /proc/cpuinfo, device specifications, or system information). Look for Sd 425, Sd 430, Sd 450, Sd 625, Sd 650, Sd 652, Sd 810, or Mdm9625.
    Affected if The device uses any of the listed Qualcomm chipsets (Sd 425, 430, 450, 625, 650, 652, 810, or Mdm9625).
  2. Check the Android security patch level
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version or Security patch level. Verify the date of the installed security update.
    Affected if The security patch level is earlier than 2018-04-05, or the device has not received the April 2018 Android security update.
  3. Verify TEE/QSEE version if accessible
    If the device provides access to TEE version information (sometimes available via diagnostic tools, manufacturer utilities, or /sys/tee/* or /firmware/tee directories), note the TEE version.
    Affected if The TEE version corresponds to a build predating the 2018-04-05 firmware fix.
  4. Check for vendor firmware updates
    Contact the device manufacturer or check the device support pages for available firmware updates. Look for any update that includes the CVE-2015-9113 fix in its changelog.
    Affected if The device manufacturer has not released or applied a firmware update addressing this vulnerability.

The device is affected if it uses one of the listed Qualcomm chipsets AND has not received the Android security patch level dated 2018-04-05 or later.

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 Android security patch level 2018-04-05 or later to affected devices. This is a firmware-level fix requiring vendor-provided system updates; there is no application-level remediation.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android 2018-04-05 security patch level or later

  1. Update the device to receive the Android 2018-04-05 security patch level or later
  2. This patch includes the fix for the QSEE syscall untrusted pointer dereference vulnerability
  3. Apply through device manufacturer's firmware update that incorporates the April 2018 Android security bulletin
Caveat Firmware-level update; ensure device is supported by manufacturer before updating

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

Fix this in Mdm9625 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,720
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,352.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-9113 — 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-2015-9113 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