dbcve.org
Mdm9206 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2016-10446

HIGH · 7.5 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 →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
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 Automobile, Snapdragon Mobile, and Snapdragon Wear MDM9206, MDM9650, SD 210/SD 212/SD 205, SD 820, SD 820A, and SD 835, incorrect configuration of the OCIMEM MPU may provide NonSecure Software access to OCIMEM memory used by TZ.

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

This vulnerability in Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets (MDM9206, MDM9650, SD 210/SD 212/SD 205, SD 820, SD 820A, SD 835) stems from incorrect configuration of the OCIMEM (On-Chip Internal Memory) Memory Protection Unit (MPU). This misconfiguration allows NonSecure Software to access OCIMEM memory regions that should be reserved for and protected by TZ (Trusted Zone), potentially enabling privilege escalation or sensitive data exposure.

MitigationApply the Android security patch level from April 5, 2018 or later, which includes the corrected OCIMEM MPU configuration in the Qualcomm firmware. Organizations should inventory affected devices and coordinate with device OEMs/carriers for firmware updates.

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
Mdm9206 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9650 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 820 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 835 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 820a 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
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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the chipset model
    Check /proc/cpuinfo or /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpuinfo for the hardware identifier. On Android, you can also use 'getprop ro.hardware' or 'cat /proc/cmdline' to find the chipset information.
    Affected if The chipset model matches one of the affected models: MDM9206, MDM9650, SD 210, SD 212, SD 205, SD 820, SD 820A, or SD 835.
  2. Check the baseband firmware version
    On Android, run 'getprop gsm.version.baseband' or check 'AT+GMR' through a terminal emulator if you have baseband access. This displays the Qualcomm firmware version loaded on the modem processor.
    Affected if The firmware version shown is from before the April 5, 2018 security patch or the version cannot be determined.
  3. Verify the Android security patch level
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Security patch level, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' in a terminal. This shows the date of the last Android security update.
    Affected if The security patch level is earlier than April 5, 2018, or the patch level is unknown/unavailable.
  4. Check bootloader/firmware version strings
    If you have root access, examine /vendor/firmware or /firmware image directories for version markers. You can also check 'cat /proc/bootinfo' or similar debug interfaces if available on your device.
    Affected if The firmware images do not contain the corrected OCIMEM MPU configuration that was included in the April 2018 patch.
  5. Contact device OEM or carrier for confirmation
    Reach out to your device manufacturer or mobile carrier and ask specifically about the CVE-2016-10446 patch status for your exact model number and firmware version.
    Affected if The OEM or carrier confirms the firmware lacks the OCIMEM MPU configuration fix or cannot confirm the patch has been applied.

A user is affected if they have a device with one of the listed Snapdragon chipsets (MDM9206, MDM9650, SD 210/212/205/820/820A/835) and the Android security patch level is earlier than April 5, 2018, or the firmware has not been updated to include the corrected OCIMEM MPU configuration.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the Android security patch level from April 5, 2018 or later, which includes the corrected OCIMEM MPU configuration in the Qualcomm firmware. Organizations should inventory affected devices and coordinate with device OEMs/carriers for firmware updates.

Fix this in Mdm9206 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
40.0 hours of engineering $7,000
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $11,200.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-10446 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2016-10446 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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