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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2017-11031

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-12-05
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
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 for MSM, Firefox OS for MSM, QRD Android, with all Android releases from CAF using the Linux kernel, the VIDIOC_G_SDE_ROTATOR_FENCE ioctl command can be used to cause a Use After Free condition.

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 confidence

Use After Free vulnerability in the VIDIOC_G_SDE_ROTATOR_FENCE ioctl handler within Android kernel drivers for MSM platforms. The ioctl command improperly handles memory, allowing an attacker to access freed memory which can lead to arbitrary code execution or denial of service.

MitigationApply the vendor-specific security patch/OTA update from the device manufacturer that addresses this kernel driver vulnerability. This is a kernel-level fix requiring a patched kernel image update.

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
AndroidOperating 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
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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 device SoC platform
    Check /proc/cpuinfo or use 'getprop ro.hardware' or 'cat /sys/devices/soc0/soc_id' to determine if the device uses a Qualcomm MSM platform
    Affected if The device is not using a Qualcomm MSM/ Snapdragon SoC, then the specific driver containing the vulnerability is likely not present and the device is not affected by this specific CVE
  2. Verify Android version
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' to check the Android OS version
    Affected if All Android versions are listed as affected for this CVE; however, kernel-level fixes may have been applied by some manufacturers regardless of Android version label
  3. Check for SDE rotator driver presence
    Look for /dev/video* devices or check 'lsmod' output for display/rotator related kernel modules (e.g., msm_sde_rotator, video4linux)
    Affected if If no SDE (Smart Display Engine) rotator driver or video4linux subsystem is present, the attack surface for this specific ioctl does not exist
  4. Verify if V4L2 video devices are accessible
    Check /dev/video0 through /dev/video* existence and permissions using 'ls -la /dev/video*'
    Affected if If no video devices are exposed to userspace, the VIDIOC_G_SDE_ROTATOR_FENCE ioctl cannot be invoked; however, the vulnerable code may still exist in the kernel even if not directly accessible
  5. Check kernel version and patch level
    Run 'uname -a' and compare against known vulnerable kernel versions for MSM platforms; also check 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' for the security patch date
    Affected if Kernel versions prior to the vendor patch date for this CVE remain vulnerable; the specific rotator driver code contains the use-after-free regardless of whether exploitation is observable

A defender is affected if their Android device uses a Qualcomm MSM SoC with the SDE rotator driver present and lacks the vendor security patch that fixes the VIDIOC_G_SDE_ROTATOR_FENCE use-after-free vulnerability.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the vendor-specific security patch/OTA update from the device manufacturer that addresses this kernel driver vulnerability. This is a kernel-level fix requiring a patched kernel image update.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation24.0 h
  • Testing16.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
56.0 hours of engineering $9,760
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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-2017-11031 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