Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2017-0440
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 · uneditedAn elevation of privilege vulnerability in the Qualcomm Wi-Fi driver could enable a local malicious application to execute arbitrary code within the context of the kernel. This issue is rated as High because it first requires compromising a privileged process. Product: Android. Versions: Kernel-3.10, Kernel-3.18. Android ID: A-33252788. References: QC-CR#1095770.
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 · moderate confidenceA high-severity elevation of privilege vulnerability in the Qualcomm Wi-Fi driver allows a local malicious application that has already compromised a privileged process to execute arbitrary code within the kernel context. The flaw affects Android devices running kernel versions 3.10 and 3.18, residing in the Wi-Fi driver component from Qualcomm.
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
Linux KernelOperating system
= 3.10= 3.18<= 7.1.1CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify kernel versionRun 'uname -r' or check /proc/version to retrieve the running kernel versionAffected if The kernel version is exactly 3.10 or 3.18, or falls within these major version branches (e.g., 3.10.x, 3.18.x)
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Confirm Android OS versionGo to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADBAffected if Android version is 7.1.1 or earlier (7.0, 6.x, 5.x, etc.)
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Verify Qualcomm Wi-Fi driver in useCheck Wi-Fi chipset info via 'getprop ro.wifi.interface' or inspect kernel modules with 'lsmod | grep -i wlan' or check 'dmesg' for Qualcomm Wi-Fi driver loading messagesAffected if The device uses a Qualcomm Wi-Fi driver chipset (common identifiers include qca, ath6kl, or Qualcomm-specific module names)
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Check for security patch levelRun 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADB or check Settings > About Phone > Security patch levelAffected if The security patch level is earlier than March 2017, or the patch level field is empty or not set
The device is affected if it runs Android 7.1.1 or earlier on kernel 3.10 or 3.18 with a Qualcomm Wi-Fi driver, and lacks the March 2017 or later security patch.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataApply the Android security patch for March 2017 (or later) which includes the fix for QC-CR#1095770. Organizations should ensure affected devices receive vendor-supplied kernel/driver updates.
Fix this in Linux Kernel
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,448.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-0440 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2017-0440 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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