dbcve.org
Mdm9607 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2016-10479

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 MDM9607, MDM9615, MDM9635M, MDM9640, SD 210/SD 212/SD 205, SD 400, SD 600, SD 615/16/SD 415, SD 617, SD 650/52, SD 800, SD 810, and SD 820, an arbitrary length value from an incoming message to QMI Proxy can lead to an out-of-bounds write in the stack variable message.

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 in QMI Proxy on affected Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets. An attacker can send a message with an arbitrary length value that overflows a stack-allocated buffer (message variable), potentially allowing arbitrary code execution.

MitigationApply Android security patch level 2018-04-05 or later, which contains the vendor fix for this QMI Proxy vulnerability. For embedded/custom firmware contexts, apply Qualcomm-provided firmware updates addressing this issue.

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
Mdm9607 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9615 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9635m FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9640 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 400 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
    Check system information or /proc/cpuinfo to identify the specific chipset (Mdm9607, Mdm9615, Mdm9635m, Mdm9640, Sd 210, Sd 212, Sd 205, or Sd 400)
    Affected if The device uses any of the listed affected Qualcomm chipsets (Mdm9607, Mdm9615, Mdm9635m, Mdm9640, Sd 210, Sd 212, Sd 205, Sd 400)
  2. Verify QMI Proxy component is present
    Check for the existence of the QMI Proxy service or binary on the system (commonly located at /vendor/bin/qmiproxy or similar paths depending on the firmware)
    Affected if The QMI Proxy binary exists and is executable on the device
  3. Confirm QMI Proxy is accessible or exposed
    Inspect running processes or services to determine if QMI Proxy is active, and check network configuration or IPC mechanisms that could allow sending messages to it
    Affected if QMI Proxy is running and accessible, allowing external or untrusted input to reach it
  4. Check firmware version
    Retrieve the firmware version from the device (via AT commands, /proc/version, or vendor-specific interfaces) and compare against the affected product list
    Affected if The firmware corresponds to any of the listed affected products (Mdm9607, Mdm9615, Mdm9635m, Mdm9640, Sd 210, Sd 212, Sd 205, Sd 400)
  5. Verify Android security patch level
    Check the Android system security patch level (Settings > About Phone > Security patch level) or via 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch'
    Affected if The security patch level is earlier than 2018-04-05, indicating the vendor fix is not applied

The environment is affected if the device uses one of the listed Qualcomm chipsets, runs the QMI Proxy component, and has a security patch level earlier than 2018-04-05 (or equivalent firmware 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, which contains the vendor fix for this QMI Proxy vulnerability. For embedded/custom firmware contexts, apply Qualcomm-provided firmware updates addressing this issue.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android security patch level 2018-04-05 or later

  1. Identify the device model using the affected Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets (MDM9607, MDM9615, MDM9635M, MDM9640, SD 210, SD 212, SD 205, SD 400)
  2. Check the current Android security patch level on the device (Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level)
  3. Update the device to receive the April 5, 2018 or later Android security patch level
  4. This is typically achieved by applying the monthly security update from the device manufacturer or carrier
Caveat Monthly security updates are cumulative; ensure all subsequent patches are also applied

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

Fix this in Mdm9607 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,720
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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-2016-10479 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