CVE-2017-18650
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 · uneditedAn issue was discovered on Samsung mobile devices with N(7.x) software. There is a WifiStateMachine IllegalArgumentException and reboot if a malformed wpa_supplicant.conf is read. The Samsung ID is SVE-2017-9828 (October 2017).
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 confidenceOn Samsung mobile devices running N(7.x) software, parsing a malformed wpa_supplicant.conf file triggers an IllegalArgumentException in the WifiStateMachine component, causing the device to reboot unexpectedly. This is a denial-of-service vulnerability affecting Wi-Fi functionality.
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= 7.0= 7.1.0= 7.1.1= 7.1.2CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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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Check Android versionGo to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADBAffected if Version is 7.0, 7.1.0, 7.1.1, or 7.1.2
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Confirm device manufacturerCheck Settings > About Phone > Manufacturer, or run 'getprop ro.build.manufacturer' via ADBAffected if Device is a Samsung mobile device (the vulnerability specifically affects Samsung devices running these Android versions)
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Locate wpa_supplicant.confCheck for /data/misc/wifi/wpa_supplicant.conf or /etc/wifi/wpa_supplicant.conf using a file manager or ADB shell with 'ls -la'Affected if The file exists and is readable (the vulnerability triggers when this file is parsed)
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Verify WifiStateMachine componentCheck for presence of WifiStateMachine in the system - look for /system/framework/wifi-service.jar or check logs for 'WifiStateMachine' entries using 'logcat | grep WifiStateMachine'Affected if The component is present and handling Wi-Fi connections (the IllegalArgumentException occurs in this component)
A device is affected if it is a Samsung mobile device running Android 7.0 through 7.1.2, has a wpa_supplicant.conf file that can be parsed, and contains the vulnerable WifiStateMachine component.
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 the Samsung security update SVE-2017-9828 (October 2017) to affected devices. Ensure wpa_supplicant.conf configurations are valid and not tampered with.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-18650 — 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-2017-18650 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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