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Fsm9055 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2015-9196

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 Mobile and Small Cell SoC FSM9055, MDM9635M, SD 400, and SD 800, improper input validation in tzbsp_ocmem can cause privilege escalation.

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

Improper input validation in tzbsp_ocmem (TrustZone Boot Processor On-Chip Memory handling) in Qualcomm Snapdragon FSM9055, MDM9635M, SD 400, and SD 800 allows privilege escalation from user space to elevated (kernel/TEE) privileges. The vulnerability resides in the trusted execution environment firmware.

MitigationApply Android security patch level 2018-04-05 or later, or obtain OEM/firmware update from Qualcomm addressing CVE-2015-9196. No application-level workaround exists for this firmware-level flaw.

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
Fsm9055 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9635m FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 400 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 800 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 Qualcomm chipset model
    Check /proc/cpuinfo or use 'getprop ro.board.platform' and 'getprop ro.product.device' to determine the exact chipset variant
    Affected if The device uses Qualcomm Fsm9055, Mdm9635m, SD 400, or SD 800 chipset
  2. Verify the firmware version string
    Check TEE firmware version via 'getprop ro.boot.secureboot' or by reading /d/tzdbg log if available, or consult OEM documentation for the baseband/modem firmware version
    Affected if The firmware version string corresponds to any pre-patch build of the affected chipsets (all versions are vulnerable)
  3. Check Android security patch level
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' to retrieve the installed security patch date
    Affected if The security patch level is earlier than 2018-04-05 or the property returns empty/unavailable indicating no patch has been applied
  4. Confirm TEE (TrustZone) is enabled and accessible
    Verify the device has an active TEE by checking /sys/kernel/debug/tz_* or using 'dmesg | grep -i tzbsp' to confirm tzbsp_ocmem component is present in the firmware
    Affected if The device has an active TEE and the OCMEM handling module (tzbsp_ocmem) exists in the firmware build

A defender is affected if the device runs any version of the specified Qualcomm chipsets (FSM9055, MDM9635M, SD 400, SD 800) and lacks the 2018-04-05 or later security patch, since all firmware versions of these chipsets contain the vulnerable tzbsp_ocmem component.

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, or obtain OEM/firmware update from Qualcomm addressing CVE-2015-9196. No application-level workaround exists for this firmware-level flaw.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android security patch level May 2018 or later (2018-05-05)

  1. Check the current Android security patch level on the affected device (Settings > About Phone > Security patch level)
  2. Verify the device model is one of: FSM9055, MDM9635M, SD 400, or SD 800
  3. If the security patch level is earlier than May 5, 2018, contact the device OEM for a firmware update
  4. Apply the OEM-provided security update that includes the fix for CVE-2015-9196
  5. After update, verify the security patch level shows May 2018 or later
Caveat Security patches typically have minimal compatibility impact; verify with OEM that your specific device model supports the update

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

Fix this in Fsm9055 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
4.0 hours of engineering $750
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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-2015-9196 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