Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2017-0519
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 fingerprint sensor 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-32372915. References: QC-CR#1086530.
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 confidenceElevation of privilege vulnerability in the Qualcomm fingerprint sensor driver allows a local malicious application to execute arbitrary code in kernel context. The flaw enables escaping the application sandbox by leveraging the privileged driver after first compromising a privileged process.
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 check '/proc/version' to determine the exact kernel version installedAffected if Kernel version is exactly 3.18 (no other versions are listed as affected)
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Verify the device uses a Qualcomm fingerprint sensorCheck for presence of Qualcomm fingerprint sensor hardware and driver modules - look for 'fingerprint', 'fpc', 'goodix', or Qualcomm-specific sensor drivers in /proc/modules, /sys/module, or via 'lsmod'Affected if A Qualcomm fingerprint sensor driver is loaded or the device has Qualcomm fingerprint sensor hardware present
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Check if fingerprint sensor driver is actively loadedRun 'lsmod | grep -i fingerprint' or check 'dmesg' for fingerprint sensor driver initialization messages mentioning QualcommAffected if The Qualcomm fingerprint sensor driver module is currently loaded in memory
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Confirm driver is running with elevated privilegesVerify the fingerprint sensor driver has kernel-level privileges by checking its execution context - typically the driver operates in kernel/root contextAffected if The fingerprint driver executes in kernel context rather than user space
System is affected if kernel version equals 3.18 AND a Qualcomm fingerprint sensor driver is present and loaded, as the vulnerability requires both conditions to be exploitable.
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 the affected kernel version (Kernel-3.18). Ensure devices receive regular monthly security updates from the device OEM. Organizations should verify their Android fleet is on supported security patch levels.
Fix this in Linux Kernel
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-0519 — 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-2017-0519 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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