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Mdm9206 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2015-9138

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, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Wear, and Small Cell SoC FSM9055, IPQ4019, MDM9206, MDM9607, MDM9625, MDM9635M, MDM9640, MDM9645, MDM9650, MDM9655, MSM8909W, SD 210/SD 212/SD 205, SD 400, SD 410/12, SD 425, SD 430, SD 450, SD 600, SD 615/16/SD 415, SD 617, SD 625, SD 650/52, SD 800, SD 808, SD 810, SD 820, SD 820A, SD 835, SD 845, SD 850, and SDX20, when an RSA encryption operation is called, the ce_util_to_unsigned_bin is invoked to convert the input buffer to unsigned binary. The ce_util_to_unsigned_bin function, instead of operating on the size of the unsigned character buffer that is passed, operates on the address - i.e. operates on "c" instead of "*c". Decrementing the address to check if it is less than zero means that the operation will always pass, since a pointer will never be less than zero, and may result in a buffer overflow.

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 buffer overflow vulnerability exists in Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC trusted execution environment (ce_util_to_unsigned_bin function). The function incorrectly performs bounds checking on the pointer address itself instead of the buffer size - it checks if pointer 'c' is less than zero rather than dereferencing '*c' to check the actual buffer size. Since a memory address will never be less than zero, this check always passes, allowing out-of-bounds writes during RSA encryption operations.

MitigationApply Android security patch level 2018-04-05 or later, which includes the Qualcomm fix for this vulnerability. This requires updating device firmware through vendor/carrier security updates.

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
Mdm9206 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9607 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Fsm9055 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9625 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9635m FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9640 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9645 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9650 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 Snapdragon SoC model
    Check the device specifications or use 'getprop ro.board.platform' or 'getprop ro.hardware' to identify the Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset model
    Affected if The device uses Mdm9206, Mdm9607, Fsm9055, Mdm9625, Mdm9635m, Mdm9640, Mdm9645, or Mdm9650 Snapdragon chipset
  2. Check the baseband/modem firmware version
    Use 'getprop gsm.version.baseband' or check the modem firmware version in the device settings under About Phone > SIM Status or Baseband version
    Affected if The baseband firmware version cannot be determined or is prior to the vendor-supplied fix (no specific version number available from CVE data)
  3. Verify the Android security patch level
    Check Settings > About Phone > Android security patch level or use 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch'
    Affected if The security patch level is earlier than 2018-04-05, indicating the fix has not been applied
  4. Confirm TEE usage for cryptographic operations
    Verify the device uses Qualcomm Snapdragon TEE for cryptographic functions (this is inherent to affected SoCs - no user config exists)
    Affected if The device has an affected Snapdragon SoC and performs RSA encryption operations within the TEE context

The device is affected if it contains any of the listed Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC models (Mdm9206, Mdm9607, Fsm9055, Mdm9625, Mdm9635m, Mdm9640, Mdm9645, Mdm9650) and the Android security patch level is earlier than 2018-04-05, since the vulnerable TEE code executes during RSA encryption operations regardless of user configuration.

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, which includes the Qualcomm fix for this vulnerability. This requires updating device firmware through vendor/carrier security updates.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android Security Patch Level 2018-04-05 or later (or latest available security patch level)

  1. Check the current Android Security Patch Level on the device (Settings > System > Security > Security patch level)
  2. If the patch level is earlier than 2018-04-05, apply the latest available Android system updates from the device manufacturer
  3. Contact the device OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) to confirm they have applied the Qualcomm firmware patches for this CVE
  4. If OTA updates are unavailable, contact the device manufacturer for firmware-level updates specific to the affected Snapdragon components
Caveat Risk of update failure if device is rooted, has custom ROM, or is at end-of-life without further updates from OEM

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

Fix this in Mdm9206 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
24.0 hours of engineering $4,240
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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-2015-9138 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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