CVE-2017-15860
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 · uneditedIn all Qualcomm products with Android releases from CAF using the Linux kernel, while processing an encrypted authentication management frame, a stack buffer overflow may potentially occur.
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 confidenceStack buffer overflow vulnerability in Qualcomm Linux kernel WiFi driver when processing encrypted authentication management frames. The vulnerability occurs in the parsing/processing path for WiFi authentication frames, allowing potential memory corruption in kernel context.
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
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/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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Confirm device is AndroidCheck the operating system on the target device. On the device, go to Settings > About Phone > Software info, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB.Affected if The device is running Google Android. This vulnerability affects only Android devices.
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Verify Qualcomm WiFi hardware is presentCheck if the device uses a Qualcomm WiFi chipset. Run 'getprop ro.wifi.interface' or 'getprop vendor.wlan.driver.version' via ADB, or inspect the kernel modules for Qualcomm WiFi drivers (e.g., check /proc/kallsyms for 'wlan' or 'qcwlan' entries).Affected if The device uses a Qualcomm-based WiFi driver. The vulnerability exists specifically in the Qualcomm Linux kernel WiFi driver component.
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Check Android security patch levelOn the device, go to Settings > About Phone > Security patch level, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADB.Affected if The security patch level is earlier than the date when this CVE was addressed. The vulnerability is present in the WiFi driver's authentication frame processing path if the patch is not applied.
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Confirm WiFi is enabled and in useCheck if WiFi functionality is active. Run 'iwconfig' or 'ip link show' to list network interfaces, or check the device settings for WiFi status.Affected if WiFi is enabled and the device processes authentication management frames. The stack buffer overflow triggers during encrypted authentication frame processing.
The device is affected if it is an Android device using a Qualcomm WiFi driver and the installed security patch level predates the fix for CVE-2017-15860.
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 Qualcomm CAF patches and Android security updates addressing this vulnerability. Users should update their Android devices to the latest vendor-supplied security patch level.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA6.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-15860 — 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-2017-15860 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
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