CVE-2017-15851
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 · uneditedLack of copy_from_user and information leak in function "msm_ois_subdev_do_ioctl, file msm_ois.c can lead to a camera crash in all Android releases(Android for MSM, Firefox OS for MSM, QRD Android) from CAF using the Linux kernel
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 confidenceMissing copy_from_user validation in the msm_ois_subdev_do_ioctl function allows user-space callers to pass invalid pointers or trigger uninitialized memory to be leaked back to user-space, causing an information disclosure and potential kernel panic/crash when accessing the OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) camera subsystem.
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 dataall versionsCVSS 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
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Identify the SoC/Camera subsystem vendorCheck if the device uses Qualcomm MSM (Snapdragon) chipset by examining /proc/cpuinfo or looking for 'msm' in kernel module paths like /system/lib/modules/ or /kernel/drivers/media/platform/msm/Affected if The device uses Qualcomm MSM camera subsystem (msm_ois driver)
-
Locate the OIS camera driverSearch for files containing 'msm_ois' in the kernel or system partitions, such as: find /system -name '*msm_ois*' 2>/dev/null or grep -r 'msm_ois_subdev_do_ioctl' /system/lib/modules/Affected if The msm_ois kernel module or driver is present on the device
-
Check Android/ROM build versionCheck ro.build.version.release in /system/build.prop or via 'getprop ro.build.version.release' commandAffected if The Android version is unpatched (all versions affected per vendor advisory)
-
Verify OIS Ioctl interface existsCheck for OIS device nodes: ls -la /dev/v4l-subdev* 2>/dev/null; look for OIS-related entries in /sys/class/video4linux/ or check if /dev/msm_ois existsAffected if OIS camera subdevice interface is accessible to user-space applications
The device is affected if it runs on Qualcomm MSM SoC with the msm_ois camera driver and receives unpatched Android firmware, as the vulnerable copy_from_user validation in msm_ois_subdev_do_ioctl is present.
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 dataAdd proper copy_from_user/copy_to_user calls with validated buffers and initialize all kernel buffers before copying data back to user-space to prevent information leakage.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing12.0 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 $7,616.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-15851 — 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-2017-15851 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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