dbcve.org
Mdm9206 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2016-10450

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 Small Cell SoC, Snapdragon Mobile, and Snapdragon Wear FSM9055, MDM9206, MDM9607, MDM9635M, MDM9640, MDM9650, MSM8909W, SD 210/SD 212/SD 205, SD 400, SD 410/12, SD 425, SD 430, SD 450, SD 615/16/SD 415, SD 617, SD 625, SD 650/52, SD 800, SD 808, SD 810, SD 820, SD 835, and SDX20, potential stack-based buffer overflow exist in thermal service leading to root compromise.

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

Stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability in the thermal service component of multiple Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets (mobile, wear, small cell SoCs). The overflow allows privilege escalation to root compromise, affecting thermal management functionality.

MitigationApply Android security patches from April 5, 2018 or later; update device firmware to versions containing the thermal service fix. For EOL devices, consider network segmentation or device replacement.

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
Mdm9607 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Fsm9055 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9635m FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9640 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9650 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Msm8909w FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 210 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 the processor information on the device. On Android devices, this can be found via 'cat /proc/cpuinfo' or in Settings > About Phone > Chipset. Look for the specific model number such as Mdm9206, Mdm9607, Msm8909w, orSd 210.
    Affected if The device uses any of the listed affected chipsets: Mdm9206, Mdm9607, Fsm9055, Mdm9635m, Mdm9640, Mdm9650, Msm8909w, or Sd 210.
  2. Check thermal service availability
    Identify if the thermal management service is active on the device. On Android, check running services via 'dumpsys' or look for thermal-related processes using 'ps -A | grep -i thermal'. The vulnerable component is the thermal service daemon.
    Affected if A thermal service or thermal management daemon is running on the device.
  3. Verify firmware version
    Retrieve the firmware version of the baseband or radio firmware. On Android, this can typically be found in Settings > About Phone > Baseband version, or via 'getprop' commands such as 'getprop ro.baseband' or 'getprop gsm.version.ril-impl'.
    Affected if The firmware version cannot be determined or is prior to the April 2018 patch date.
  4. Check Android security patch level
    On Android devices, check the build information by going to Settings > About Phone > Android security patch level, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch'. The vulnerability was fixed in the April 5, 2018 Android security update.
    Affected if The Android security patch level is earlier than April 5, 2018, or the patch level cannot be verified.
  5. Confirm thermal API exposure
    If possible, examine whether the thermal service API is exposed to unprivileged applications. This typically requires checking SELinux policies or reviewing the thermal service configuration files in /vendor/etc/ or /system/etc/.
    Affected if The thermal service API is accessible to non-privileged applications or processes.

A device is affected if it uses any of the listed Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets (Mdm9206, Mdm9607, Fsm9055, Mdm9635m, Mdm9640, Mdm9650, Msm8909w, or Sd 210) and has not received the April 5, 2018 or later Android security patch or firmware update containing the thermal service fix.

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 patches from April 5, 2018 or later; update device firmware to versions containing the thermal service fix. For EOL devices, consider network segmentation or device replacement.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Any Android security patch level released after April 5, 2018 (such as May 2018 or later)

  1. 1. Identify the specific device model and carrier/firmware variant from the affected list (MDM9206, MDM9607, FSM9055, MDM9635M, MDM9640, MDM9650, MSM8909W, SD 210)
  2. 2. Check the device's current Android security patch level in Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level
  3. 3. If the security patch level is earlier than April 5, 2018, the device is vulnerable
  4. 4. Contact the device manufacturer or carrier for an OTA update that includes the 2018-04-05 or later security patch level
  5. 5. Apply the available firmware update to remediate the thermal service stack-based buffer overflow
Caveat Firmware updates on older Qualcomm SoC devices may be limited or unavailable from some carriers; device may need to be replaced if no update is available

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

Fix this in Mdm9206 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
21.0 hours of engineering $3,780
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,048.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-10450 — 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-2016-10450 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