CVE-2015-9163
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 · uneditedIn Android before 2018-04-05 or earlier security patch level on Qualcomm Snapdragon Automobile, Snapdragon Mobile, and Snapdragon Wear MDM9206, MDM9650, MSM8909W, SD 210/SD 212/SD 205, SD 400, SD 410/12, SD 425, SD 430, SD 450, 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, and SD 850, in a PlayReady function, information exposure can occur.
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 confidenceInformation disclosure vulnerability in the PlayReady DRM function within Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets (MDM9206, MDM9650, MSM8909W, SD series 210-850). The vulnerability allows unauthenticated network attackers to potentially access sensitive information due to improper handling in the PlayReady component, which is used for digital rights management on mobile 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 dataall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsCVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the Qualcomm chipset modelCheck device information via 'getprop ro.hardware' or 'cat /proc/cpuinfo' or check the device specifications documentationAffected if The chipset model matches MDM9206, MDM9650, MSM8909W, SD 210, SD 212, SD 205, SD 400, or SD 410
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Determine if PlayReady DRM is in useCheck device DRM licenses or settings: look for 'PlayReady' in /system/etc/permissions or check DRM info via 'dumpsys media.drm'Affected if PlayReady DRM is enabled or present on the device
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Verify Android security patch levelCheck the Android security patch level via Settings > About Phone > Build Number or via 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch'Affected if The security patch level is earlier than April 5, 2018 (before 2018-04-05)
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Check firmware versionRetrieve firmware version via 'getprop' commands (e.g., 'getprop ro.build.description' or 'getprop gsm.version.baseband')Affected if The firmware is any version on the affected chipset models listed (all versions are affected)
The device is affected if it uses any of the listed Qualcomm chipset models (MDM9206, MDM9650, MSM8909W, SD 210/212/205/400/410) and has a security patch level before April 5, 2018, with PlayReady DRM enabled.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
From vendor dataApply the Android security patch level from April 5, 2018 or later; contact device OEMs for firmware updates as this is a chipset-level vulnerability requiring vendor-supplied patches.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation24.0 h
- Testing16.0 h
- Review / QA8.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $15,616.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-9163 — 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 sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2015-9163 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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