CVE-2015-9218
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 and Snapdragon Wear MSM8909W, SD 210/SD 212/SD 205, SD 400, SD 410/12, SD 425, SD 427, SD 430, SD 435, SD 450, SD 625, SD 650/52, SD 800, SD 808, SD 810, SD 820, SD 835, SD 845, SDM630, SDM636, SDM660, and Snapdragon_High_Med_2016, when processing bad HEVC clips, the DPB fills, and with no error handling for DPB being full, a hang occurs.
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, a vulnerability exists in the HEVC video decoder where malformed HEVC video clips cause the Decoded Picture Buffer (DPB) to fill up, and缺乏错误处理 when the DPB is full results in a system hang (denial of service).
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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the Snapdragon processor modelCheck the device specifications or system information to identify the Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset (e.g., via /proc/cpuinfo, device info in settings, or manufacturer documentation)Affected if The processor model is one of: Msm8909w, SD 210, SD 212, SD 205, SD 400, SD 410, SD 412, or SD 425
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Verify HEVC video decoder is in useConfirm the device or application uses HEVC (H.265) video decoding - this may be visible in video player settings, codec information, or media framework logsAffected if HEVC/H.265 video decoding is enabled or actively used on the device
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Check firmware versionRetrieve the firmware version from the device (via system settings, about phone, or diagnostic tools)Affected if The device runs any firmware version on the affected Snapdragon chipsets (all versions of the listed models are vulnerable)
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Confirm Android security patch levelCheck the Android security patch level in Settings > About Phone > Software Information (look for 'Android security patch level')Affected if The security patch level is earlier than 2018-04-05, indicating the fix has not been applied
A user is affected if their device uses one of the listed Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets (Msm8909w, SD 210/212/205/400/410/412/425) with HEVC decoding enabled and lacks the 2018-04-05 or later security patch.
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 appropriate Android security patch (2018-04-05 or later) or firmware update from the device/OEM manufacturer that includes the fix for this Qualcomm Snapdragon vulnerability.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,776.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-9218 — 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-2015-9218 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