dbcve.org
Sd 400 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2015-9221

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 SD 400, SD 800, and SD 810, lack of validation of pointers passed by secure apps could lead to an untrusted pointer dereference.

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

Pointer validation vulnerability in Qualcomm Snapdragon firmware (SD 400, 800, 810) allows untrusted pointer dereference due to lack of validation of pointers passed by secure apps. This is a memory corruption flaw in the baseband/firmware layer preceding the April 2018 Android security patch.

MitigationApply Android security patch level 2018-04-05 or later; coordinate with device manufacturers/carriers for firmware updates on affected Snapdragon 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 data
Sd 400 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 800 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 810 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 Snapdragon chipset model
    Check device specifications or use 'getprop ro.board.platform' or 'getprop ro.hardware' in ADB shell to identify the processor. For SD 400, 800, or 810, look for identifiers like 'msm8226' (SD 400), 'msm8994' (SD 810), or 'msm8992' (SD 800)
    Affected if The device uses Qualcomm Snapdragon SD 400, SD 800, or SD 810 chipset
  2. Check the baseband firmware version
    Run 'getprop gsm.version.baseband' in ADB shell to retrieve the baseband/modem firmware version
    Affected if The baseband version is from before April 2018 firmware updates (compare against carrier/manufacturer release notes for your specific model)
  3. Verify the Android security patch level
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' in ADB shell or check Settings > About Phone > Android security patch level
    Affected if The security patch level is earlier than 2018-04-05 or is not set (indicating pre-April 2018 firmware)
  4. Confirm secure app execution context
    This vulnerability is triggered when untrusted secure apps pass unvalidated pointers. If the device runs secure apps (like DRM or payment apps) and meets the above conditions, the flaw is applicable
    Affected if Device has one of the affected chipsets AND runs pre-April 2018 baseband firmware with security patch level before 2018-04-05

A user is affected if their device uses Qualcomm Snapdragon SD 400, 800, or 810 with baseband firmware and Android security patches predating the April 2018 update.

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; coordinate with device manufacturers/carriers for firmware updates on affected Snapdragon devices.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android security patch level April 2018 or later (any Android release that includes the 2018-04-05 security bulletin)

  1. Check the current Android security patch level on the affected device (Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level)
  2. If the device shows a security patch level earlier than April 5, 2018, apply the latest available Android system update from the device manufacturer
  3. Alternatively, if the device manufacturer has released a specific firmware update, flash the updated firmware that includes the April 2018 or later Android security patch level
  4. After updating, verify the security patch level reflects April 2018 or later in Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level
Caveat Security updates typically have minimal breaking changes; however, ensure device compatibility and backup data before applying firmware updates

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

Fix this in Sd 400 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,970
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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-2015-9221 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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