dbcve.org
Honor 5a FirmwareOperating system · Huawei

CVE-2017-2729

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-11-22
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

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
The boot loaders in Honor 5A smart phones with software Versions earlier than CAM-TL00C01B193,Versions earlier than CAM-TL00HC00B193,Versions earlier than CAM-UL00C00B193 have a buffer overflow vulnerability. An attacker with the root privilege of an Android system may trick a user into installing a malicious APP. The APP can modify specific data to cause buffer overflow in the next system reboot, causing continuous system reboot or arbitrary code execution.

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

Buffer overflow vulnerability in the boot loaders of Honor 5A smartphones (CAM-TL00, CAM-TL00HC, CAM-UL00 versions before respective B193 builds). An attacker with root privileges can trick users into installing a malicious app that modifies specific data, triggering buffer overflow on next reboot and causing continuous system reboots or arbitrary code execution.

MitigationUpdate device firmware to patched versions (B193 or later). Avoid installing applications from untrusted sources, as the attack requires root-level access and user participation to install the malicious app.

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
Honor 5a FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< cam-tl00c01b193< cam-tl00hc00b193< cam-ul00c00b193
P8 Lite FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< ale-l02c635b568< ale-l21c10b541< ale-l21c185b568< ale-l21c432b596< ale-l21c464b595< ale-l21c636b568< ale-l23c605b535

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
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 checks

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

  1. Identify your device model
    Go to Settings > About Phone and locate the Model Number or Product Name. For Honor 5A, look for CAM-TL00, CAM-TL00HC, or CAM-UL00. For P8 Lite, look for ale-l02, ale-l21, or ale-l23 variants.
    Affected if The device model matches Honor 5A (CAM-TL00, CAM-TL00HC, CAM-UL00) or P8 Lite (ale-l02, ale-l21, ale-l23)
  2. Check the firmware build version
    In Settings > About Phone, locate the Build Number or Software Version. Compare this to the affected version thresholds: for Honor 5A, check if it is below B193 (cam-tl00c01b193, cam-tl00hc00b193, cam-ul00c00b193). For P8 Lite, check against ale-l02c635b568, ale-l21c10b541, ale-l21c185b568, ale-l21c432b596, ale-l21c464b595, ale-l21c636b568, ale-l23c605b535.
    Affected if The installed build number is lower than the specified thresholds for your model (B193 or later is patched)
  3. Verify bootloader status
    On Android devices, the bootloader version is typically shown in the bootloader/recovery screen (power off, then hold power + volume down). Alternatively, use ADB command 'fastboot oem device-info' if the device is in fastboot mode. Look for information indicating if the bootloader is locked or unlocked.
    Affected if The bootloader is unlocked or shows modifications, as the attack requires root access which typically involves bootloader unlocking
  4. Review apps with root privileges
    Use a trusted security app or check in Settings > Apps > Permissions > Root access to see which applications have been granted superuser privileges. Also review any recently installed apps from unknown sources (Settings > Security > Unknown sources).
    Affected if Applications from untrusted sources have been granted root access, which is required for the exploit to function

You are affected if your device is an Honor 5A or P8 Lite model with a build version below the B193 threshold (or equivalent for your specific variant), especially if the bootloader is unlocked or untrusted apps have root permissions.

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

Update device firmware to patched versions (B193 or later). Avoid installing applications from untrusted sources, as the attack requires root-level access and user participation to install the malicious app.

Fix this in Honor 5a Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,440
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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-2017-2729 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