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Mdm9206 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2017-18071

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-04-11
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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 before security patch level 2018-04-05 on Qualcomm Snapdragon Mobile and Snapdragon Wear MDM9206, MDM9607, MSM8909W, SD 210/SD 212/SD 205, SD 425, SD 430, SD 450, SD 625, SD 650/52, debug policy can potentially be bypassed.

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 confidence

This is a debug policy bypass vulnerability in Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets (MDM9206, MDM9607, MSM8909W, SD 210/212/205, SD 425, SD 430, SD 450, SD 625, SD 650/52) used in Android devices. The vulnerability allows attackers to circumvent debug restrictions, potentially enabling elevated privileges, unauthorized access to debugging interfaces, and chaining with other exploits. The CVSS 9.8 indicates network-exploitable, low-complexity attacks without authentication or user interaction.

MitigationApply Android security patch level 2018-04-05 or later, which includes the vendor fix. For end-of-life devices that cannot receive updates, consider device replacement as this is a firmware-level secure boot bypass.

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
Mdm9206 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9607 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Msm8909w FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 210 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 212 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 205 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 425 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 430 FirmwareOperating 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
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the device chipset model
    Check /proc/cpuinfo or use 'getprop ro.hardware' or 'getprop ro.board.platform' to retrieve the chipset identifier
    Affected if The chipset matches MDM9206, MDM9607, MSM8909W, SD 210, SD 212, SD 205, SD 425, SD 430, SD 450, SD 625, or SD 650/652
  2. Verify the Android security patch level
    Check Settings > About Phone > Android security patch level, or use 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch'
    Affected if The patch level is earlier than 2018-04-05 or cannot be determined (indicating unpatched firmware)
  3. Confirm USB debugging status
    Check Settings > Developer Options > USB debugging, or use 'getprop persist.sys.usb.config'
    Affected if USB debugging is enabled (adb debug interface exposed)

The device is affected if it uses one of the listed Qualcomm chipset models and either has a security patch level before 2018-04-05 or has USB debugging enabled, as the debug policy bypass could be exploited.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply Android security patch level 2018-04-05 or later, which includes the vendor fix. For end-of-life devices that cannot receive updates, consider device replacement as this is a firmware-level secure boot bypass.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android security patch level 2018-04-05 or later (contact device manufacturer for exact version)

  1. Verify current Android security patch level on the device (Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level)
  2. If the device is on Android with security patch level before 2018-04-05, apply the latest available system update from your device manufacturer
  3. Contact device manufacturer to confirm they have released the April 2018 security patch for your specific device model
  4. For embedded/IoT devices using these Snapdragon chipsets, contact the device vendor for firmware updates that incorporate the April 2018 security patch level
  5. After updating, verify the security patch level shows April 5, 2018 or later
Caveat Device manufacturer updates may have other changes; test thoroughly on production systems

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Mdm9206 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,560
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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-2017-18071 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