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Mdm9206 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2017-18305

HIGH · 7.0 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-10-23
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
72/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
XBL sec mem dump system call allows complete control of EL3 by unlocking all XPUs if enable fuse is not blown in Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Wear in version MDM9206, MDM9607, MDM9650, SD 210/SD 212/SD 205, SD 835.

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

The XBL (eXtensible Boot Loader) sec mem dump system call in certain Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets contains a vulnerability that allows complete control of EL3 (the highest ARM privilege level) by unlocking all XPUs (eXecute/Protection Units) when the enable fuse is not blown. This gives an attacker full control of the secure world in ARM TrustZone architecture.

MitigationThe primary remediation is ensuring the enable fuse is properly blown during manufacturing, which prevents the vulnerable system call from unlocking XPUs. For deployed devices, firmware updates may be required to address this hardware configuration issue, though this may not be possible on all affected devices.

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
Mdm9650 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 835 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
High
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/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
    Check the processor information via /proc/cpuinfo or by reading the device tree (e.g., cat /proc/device-tree/model or cat /sys/devices/soc0/soc_id). For Qualcomm devices, also check /proc/cmdline for boot parameters that may reveal the chipset.
    Affected if The chipset matches one of the affected models: Mdm9206, Mdm9607, Mdm9650, SD 210, SD 212, SD 205, or SD 835.
  2. Verify the chipset is a Qualcomm Snapdragon
    Check /proc/cpuinfo for 'Hardware' or 'model name' fields containing 'Qualcomm' or 'Snapdragon', or check the bootloader output during early boot sequences via serial debug.
    Affected if The device uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset from the affected product family.
  3. Inspect the XBL secure fuse configuration
    This requires access to secure boot diagnostic interfaces or JTAG/debuggers that can read secure fuse states. On production devices, this typically requires manufacturer-specific tools or consulting the device manufacturer for fuse blown status. The relevant fuse is the 'enable fuse' that controls whether the sec mem dump system call can unlock XPUs.
    Affected if The enable fuse has NOT been blown (is in unblown/unprogrammed state), which allows the vulnerable system call to unlock XPUs.
  4. Check for XBL sec mem dump syscall presence
    Analyze the XBL firmware image (if accessible via firmware dump or debug firmware) for the sec mem dump system call implementation. This requires reverse engineering the firmware binary to identify the code path that handles XPU unlocking.
    Affected if The XBL firmware contains the sec mem dump system call that performs XPU unlocking without checking the enable fuse first.

A device is affected if it uses any of the listed Qualcomm chipset models (Mdm9206, Mdm9607, Mdm9650, SD 210, SD 212, SD 205, SD 835) and the security enable fuse has not been blown, allowing the XBL sec mem dump syscall to unlock XPUs and gain EL3 control.

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

The primary remediation is ensuring the enable fuse is properly blown during manufacturing, which prevents the vulnerable system call from unlocking XPUs. For deployed devices, firmware updates may be required to address this hardware configuration issue, though this may not be possible on all affected devices.

Fix this in Mdm9206 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
44.0 hours of engineering $7,720
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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-2017-18305 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