Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2017-0462
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 Seemp 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-3.18. Android ID: A-33353601. References: QC-CR#1102288.
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 local malicious application that has already compromised a privileged process can exploit a vulnerability in the Qualcomm Seemp (Security Enhanced Energy Management Process) driver to execute arbitrary code within the kernel context, achieving elevation of privilege. The vulnerability exists in kernel-3.18 and stems from improper access controls or input validation within the Seemp driver.
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
= 3.18CVSS 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 the running kernel versionRun `uname -r` or `cat /proc/version` to determine the exact kernel versionAffected if The kernel version starts with 3.18 (e.g., 3.18.x)
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Locate the Seemp driver in the kernel treeSearch for seemp-related driver files in the kernel source or /sys/module directory using `ls -la /sys/module/ | grep -i seemp` or similar file system inspectionAffected if A kernel module or driver file containing 'seemp' is present and loaded in the system
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Verify if the Seemp driver is a loaded kernel moduleRun `lsmod | grep -i seemp` to list any loaded kernel modules matching the Seemp driverAffected if A module named seemp or similar is listed in the loaded modules
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Check the driver file path and permissionsExamine any seemp-related files in /sys/kernel/debug or /dev for character device files created by the driver, noting their permissions and ownershipAffected if The Seemp driver creates device nodes or files accessible from user space without proper access controls
You are affected if you are running a Linux kernel version 3.18.x with the Qualcomm Seemp driver loaded or present in the system.
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 January 2017 or later patches that address this vulnerability. This requires updating the kernel and Seemp driver to a patched version.
Fix this in Linux Kernel
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA8.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $12,352.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-0462 — 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-2017-0462 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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- 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
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