CVE-2015-9194
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 Mobile SD 210/SD 212/SD 205, SD 400, SD 425, SD 427, SD 430, SD 435, SD 450, SD 617, SD 625, SD 650/52, SD 800, SD 845, and Snapdragon_High_Med_2016, during module load at TZ Startup, memory statically allocated by modules was not being properly set to zero first. Allowing the module to execute without reset gives it access to information from previous app thus leading to information exposure.
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 confidenceIn Qualcomm Snapdragon processors, during Trust Zone (TZ) module loading at startup, statically allocated memory is not properly zeroed before use. This allows newly loaded modules to access residual data from previously executed applications running in the trusted execution environment, leading to sensitive information disclosure.
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 Snapdragon modelCheck the processor information on the device. On Android, run `getprop ro.product.board` or check /proc/cpuinfo to identify the Snapdragon variant.Affected if The device uses any of the following: Sd 427, Sd 435, Sd 210, Sd 212, Sd 205, Sd 400, Sd 425, or Sd 430 firmware.
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Check the Android security patch levelRun `getprop ro.build.version.security_patch` or go to Settings > About phone > Android security patch level to see the installed patch date.Affected if The security patch level is earlier than 2018-04-05, indicating the vulnerability has not been patched.
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Verify Trust Zone functionalityThis vulnerability requires access to Trust Zone. On affected devices running unpatched firmware, any TZ module loaded after other TZ applications could potentially access residual data. There is no user-accessible command to directly inspect TZ memory contents.Affected if The device is an affected Snapdragon variant AND the security patch level is before April 2018.
A user is affected if their device runs an affected Qualcomm Snapdragon variant (Sd 210, 212, 205, 400, 425, 427, 430, or 435) and the Android security patch level predates the 2018-04-05 update.
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 2018-04-05 or later, which contains the fix for this Trust Zone memory initialization vulnerability. Users should ensure their device manufacturers have released and installed the appropriate firmware update.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,064.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-9194 — 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-2015-9194 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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- 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
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