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Fsm9055 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2017-18279

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-05-06
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Lack of check of buffer length before copying can lead to buffer overflow in camera module in Small Cell SoC, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Wear in FSM9055, FSM9955, IPQ4019, IPQ8064, MDM9206, MDM9607, MDM9640, MDM9650, MSM8909W, MSM8996AU, QCA9531, QCA9558, QCA9563, QCA9880, QCA9886, QCA9980, SD 210/SD 212/SD 205, SD 425, SD 427, SD 430, SD 435, SD 450, SD 615/16/SD 415, SD 625, SD 650/52, SD 800, SD 810, SD 820, SD 835, SDM630, SDM636, SDM660, SDX20, Snapdragon_High_Med_2016.

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

A buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the camera module of multiple Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets and Small Cell SoC devices. The root cause is a missing bounds check before a memory copy operation, allowing an attacker to overwrite adjacent memory regions by providing input larger than the destination buffer. This could lead to code execution or denial of service.

MitigationApply vendor-provided firmware updates for affected chipsets. Until patches are available, restrict camera module access to trusted applications and monitor for anomalous behavior indicating exploitation attempts.

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
Fsm9055 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Fsm9955 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Ipq4019 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9206 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9607 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9640 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9650 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Msm8909w 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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/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 checks

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

  1. Identify the chipset model in your device
    Check /proc/cpuinfo, /sys/class/hwmon or device documentation to determine the exact Qualcomm chipset or SoC model
    Affected if The device uses one of these chipsets: Fsm9055, Fsm9955, Ipq4019, Mdm9206, Mdm9607, Mdm9640, Mdm9650, or Msm8909w
  2. Confirm the camera module is loaded or accessible
    Run lsmod | grep -i camera, check /dev/video* devices, or review the device kernel modules to see if the camera module is active
    Affected if The camera module (v4l2, videobuf2, or vendor camera kernel modules) is loaded and /dev/video devices exist
  3. Check if camera firmware is present
    Inspect /etc/firmware, /lib/firmware, or vendor-specific firmware directories for camera-related firmware files (typically named with camera, cam, or sensor prefixes)
    Affected if Camera firmware files exist on the device, indicating the camera functionality is provisioned
  4. Review system logs for camera-related crashes or anomalies
    Examine dmesg, /var/log/messages, or journalctl for buffer overflow indicators such as memory corruption errors, kernel panics, or camera daemon crashes occurring with large input data
    Affected if Logs show unexplained camera daemon crashes, memory corruption errors, or kernel oops messages related to camera operations

You are affected if your device contains one of the listed Qualcomm chipsets and has the camera module enabled or provisioned, since all firmware versions of these chipsets are vulnerable.

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 vendor-provided firmware updates for affected chipsets. Until patches are available, restrict camera module access to trusted applications and monitor for anomalous behavior indicating exploitation attempts.

Fix this in Fsm9055 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
21.0 hours of engineering $3,680
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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-2017-18279 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
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