dbcve.org
Msm8909w FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2015-9212

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 Snapdragon Wear MSM8909W, SD 210/SD 212/SD 205, SD 400, SD 410/12, and SD 800, lack of input validation while processing TZ_PR_CMD_SAVE_KEY command could lead to a buffer overread.

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

Buffer overread vulnerability in Qualcomm Snapdragon mobile and wearable processors stemming from insufficient input validation when processing the TZ_PR_CMD_SAVE_KEY command in TrustZone (TZ). This affects multiple chipset generations (MSM8909W, SD 210/212/205, SD 400, SD 410/12, SD 800) on Android devices before the 2018-04-05 security patch level, potentially allowing arbitrary code execution in the trusted execution environment.

MitigationApply Android security patch level 2018-04-05 or later from the device OEM, which includes the fix for proper input validation in the TrustZone component. End-of-life devices should be replaced if no patch is available.

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
Msm8909w FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 210 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 212 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 205 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 400 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 410 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 412 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 chipset model
    Check device specifications or run 'getprop ro.board.platform' or 'getprop ro.product.device' via adb shell to identify the Qualcomm Snapdragon model
    Affected if The chipset is one of MSM8909W, SD 210, SD 212, SD 205, SD 400, SD 410, SD 412, or SD 800
  2. Check the Android security patch level
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via adb shell or check Settings > About Phone > Android security patch level
    Affected if The security patch level is earlier than 2018-04-05 or the property is empty/unavailable
  3. Verify TrustZone is enabled
    TrustZone is enabled by default on affected Snapdragon devices; no manual configuration check is needed for this vulnerability
    Affected if The device uses a vulnerable Snapdragon chipset with an older security patch level

A device is affected if it uses any of the listed Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets (MSM8909W, SD 210/212/205, SD 400, SD 410/12, SD 800) and has a security patch level earlier than 2018-04-05.

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 from the device OEM, which includes the fix for proper input validation in the TrustZone component. End-of-life devices should be replaced if no patch is available.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android Security Patch Level 2018-04-05 or later

  1. Verify the current Android security patch level on the device by checking Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level
  2. If the Security Patch Level is earlier than April 5, 2018, apply the latest available Android security update from your device manufacturer
  3. Contact the device manufacturer (OEM) to confirm they have released a firmware update addressing CVE-2015-9212 for your specific device model
  4. For embedded devices or IoT devices using these Snapdragon chipsets, contact the device vendor for firmware updates that include the April 2018 Android security patch
Caveat Applying security updates may require device reboot; some older devices may no longer receive updates from OEMs

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

Fix this in Msm8909w Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,920
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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-2015-9212 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