dbcve.org
Mdm9650 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2016-10461

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 MDM9650, SD 650/52, SD 808, SD 810, SD 820, and SDX20, lack of proper bounds checking may 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

A buffer overread vulnerability in Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets (MDM9650, SD 650/52, SD 808, SD 810, SD 820, SDX20) exists due to lack of proper bounds checking in the firmware. This allows potential remote or local attackers to read sensitive memory contents beyond buffer boundaries, potentially exposing credentials, encryption keys, or other confidential data.

MitigationApply Android security patches from 2018-04-05 or later, which include the Qualcomm firmware fix. Organizations should inventory affected devices and ensure they receive vendor-supplied 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
Mdm9650 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 650 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 652 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 808 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 810 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 820 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sdx20 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 Qualcomm chipset model in the device
    Check /proc/cpuinfo or device kernel messages (dmesg) for the chipset identifier such as mdm9650, sd650, sd652, sd808, sd810, sd820, or sdx20
    Affected if The chipset is one of: MDM9650, SD 650, SD 652, SD 808, SD 810, SD 820, or SDX20
  2. Check the Android security patch level
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via adb shell
    Affected if The security patch level is earlier than 2018-04-05 or is not displayed
  3. Verify if the device receives Qualcomm firmware updates
    Check with the device manufacturer or carrier for firmware update availability for your specific model and chipset
    Affected if No firmware update containing the 2018-04-05 security patch or later has been applied
  4. Check the baseband firmware version
    Run 'getprop gsm.version.baseband' or 'getprop vendor.qcom.version.baseband' via adb shell to retrieve the baseband processor version
    Affected if The baseband version is older than the patched versions included in the 2018-04-05 Android security update

A device is affected if it contains one of the listed Qualcomm chipsets (MDM9650, SD 650/652/808/810/820, SDX20) and has not received the Android security patch from 2018-04-05 or later that includes the firmware 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 2018-04-05 or later, which include the Qualcomm firmware fix. Organizations should inventory affected devices and ensure they receive vendor-supplied firmware updates.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android Security Patch Level 2018-04-05 or later (contact device OEM for specific firmware version)

  1. 1. Identify the device manufacturer and model using the affected Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets (MDM9650, SD 650/652/808/810/820, SDX20)
  2. 2. Check the current Android Security Patch Level on the device (Settings > About Phone > Android 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 OEM (original equipment manufacturer) for available firmware/OTA updates
  5. 5. Apply the OEM-provided Android security update that includes the 2018-04-05 patch level or later
  6. 6. Alternatively, if the OEM no longer supports the device, consider upgrading to a newer device that receives current security patches
Caveat Old devices may no longer receive OEM updates; in such cases, device replacement may be necessary as firmware-level fixes cannot be applied manually

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

Fix this in Mdm9650 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
24.0 hours of engineering $4,240
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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-2016-10461 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