dbcve.org
Sd 400 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2016-10489

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, lack of address argument validation in qsee_get_tz_app_name() may 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

This is a vulnerability in the Qualcomm Secure Execution Environment (QSEE) running on Snapdragon SD 400 processors. The function qsee_get_tz_app_name() lacks proper address argument validation, allowing an untrusted pointer to be dereferenced. This could enable an attacker to execute code in the trusted execution environment (TEE) with higher privileges than the Android OS, potentially bypassing security boundaries.

MitigationApply the Android security patch from April 5, 2018 or later, which includes the fix for this QSEE vulnerability. This is a firmware-level issue requiring a system update rather than application-level remediation.

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

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 processor model
    Run 'getprop ro.board.platform' or check /proc/cpuinfo to confirm the processor is SD 400 (Snapdragon 400 series)
    Affected if The device uses a Snapdragon SD 400 processor - this is a prerequisite for being affected
  2. Check the TrustZone/QSEE firmware version
    Examine /sys/class/misc/tz/version or use 'dmesg | grep -i tz' to retrieve the TrustZone firmware version string
    Affected if The TZ firmware version cannot be determined or shows a version predating the April 2018 security patch
  3. Verify the Android security patch level
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' to check the installed security patch date
    Affected if The security patch level is earlier than April 5, 2018 or shows no patch date at all
  4. Confirm QSEE trusted app functionality
    Check if QSEE/TZ is active by examining /dev/tz or /dev/qseecom for availability
    Affected if The device has an active QSEE/TrustZone implementation and the above checks indicate unpatched firmware

A device is affected if it contains a Snapdragon SD 400 processor with QSEE/TrustZone firmware that predates the April 2018 security patch level.

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 the Android security patch from April 5, 2018 or later, which includes the fix for this QSEE vulnerability. This is a firmware-level issue requiring a system update rather than application-level remediation.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android security patch level April 2018 or later (specific version varies by device manufacturer)

  1. 1. Verify the current Android security patch level on the device by going to Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level
  2. 2. If the device has a security patch level earlier than April 5, 2018, check with the device manufacturer for an available update containing the April 2018 security patch
  3. 3. Apply the manufacturer-provided system update that includes the April 2018 Android security patch level or later
  4. 4. Confirm the security patch level has been updated to April 2018 or later after the update is applied
Caveat Devices using Snapdragon SD 400 chipset from 2013-2014 may no longer receive manufacturer updates; consider hardware replacement if update unavailable

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

Fix this in Sd 400 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
44.0 hours of engineering $7,720
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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-2016-10489 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