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Honor 8 FirmwareOperating system · Huawei

CVE-2017-8215

MEDIUM · 6.2 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 →
64/100
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
Honor 8,Honor V8,Honor 9,Honor V9,Nova 2,Nova 2 Plus,P9,P10 Plus,Toronto Huawei smart phones with software of versions earlier than FRD-AL00C00B391, versions earlier than FRD-DL00C00B391, versions earlier than KNT-AL10C00B391, versions earlier than KNT-AL20C00B391, versions earlier than KNT-UL10C00B391, versions earlier than KNT-TL10C00B391, versions earlier than Stanford-AL00C00B175, versions earlier than Stanford-AL10C00B175, versions earlier than Stanford-TL00C01B175, versions earlier than Duke-AL20C00B191, versions earlier than Duke-TL30C01B191, versions earlier than Picasso-AL00C00B162, versions earlier than Picasso-TL00C01B162 , versions earlier than Barca-AL00C00B162, versions earlier than Barca-TL00C00B162, versions earlier than EVA-AL10C00B396SP03, versions earlier than EVA-CL00C92B396, versions earlier than EVA-DL00C17B396, versions earlier than EVA-TL00C01B396 , versions earlier than Vicky-AL00AC00B172, versions earlier than Toronto-AL00AC00B191, versions earlier than Toronto-TL10C01B191 have a permission control vulnerability. An attacker with the system privilege of a mobile can exploit this vulnerability to bypass the unlock code verification and unlock the mobile phone bootloader.

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 permission control vulnerability in multiple Huawei/Honor smartphones (Honor 8, 9, V8, V9, Nova 2/2 Plus, P9, P10 Plus, Toronto) that allows an attacker with system privileges to bypass unlock code verification and unlock the device bootloader. The vulnerability exists in specific software versions prior to the B391 (for AL/DL/AL10/AL20/UL10/TL10 variants), B175 (Stanford), B191 (Duke), B162 (Picasso/Barca), B396 (EVA), B172 (Vicky), and B191 (Toronto) releases.

MitigationApply the vendor-provided firmware update to bring the device software to version B391, B175, B191, B162, B396SP03, B172, or later as specified for each model. Users should not grant unnecessary system-level privileges to untrusted applications.

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 8 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< frd-al00c00b391< frd-dl00c00b391
Honor V8 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< knt-al10c00b391< knt-al20c00b391< knt-ul10c00b391< knt-tl10c00b391
Honor 9 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< stanford-al00c00b175< stanford-al10c00b175< stanford-tl00c01b175
Honor V9 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< duke-al20c00b191< duke-tl30c01b191
Nova 2 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< picasso-al00c00b162< picasso-tl00c01b162
Nova 2 Plus FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< barca-al00c00b162< barca-tl00c00b162
P9 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< eva-al10c00b396sp03< eva-cl00c92b396< eva-dl00c17b396< eva-tl00c01b396
P10 Plus FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< vicky-al00ac00b172

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
Physical
Complexity
Low
Privileges
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:P/AC:L/PR:H/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 your Huawei/Honor device model
    Check the device settings under Settings > About Phone > Model Number, or look for the physical model marking on the device backplate or packaging
    Affected if The device model matches Honor 8, Honor V8, Honor 9, Honor V9, Nova 2, Nova 2 Plus, P9, or P10 Plus from the affected product list
  2. Determine the current firmware version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Version > Build Number, or dial *#*#2846579#*#* to access engineering menu, then navigate to ProjectMenu > Version > Baseline
    Affected if The firmware version string begins with a prefix from the affected list (e.g., frd-al00, knt-al10, stanford-al00, duke-al20, picasso-al00, barca-al00, eva-al10, vicky-al00) and the numeric build number is lower than the threshold (391, 175, 191, 162, 396, or 172)
  3. Confirm bootloader unlock status
    Boot the device into fastboot mode (power off, then hold volume down + power), run 'fastboot oem get-bootinfo' on connected computer, or check if the device shows 'LOCKED' or 'UNLOCKED' status on the boot screen
    Affected if The bootloader shows as UNLOCKED or allows unlock without requiring the official Huawei unlock code, indicating the bypass has occurred
  4. Verify system-level access exposure
    Check if any third-party applications have been granted root or system-level privileges, or if the device has been rooted using tools that exploit system privileges
    Affected if The device has granted system or root privileges to untrusted applications, creating the conditions this vulnerability exploits

You are affected if your Huawei/Honor device model matches the list and your firmware version is below the specified build number threshold (B391, B175, B191, B162, B396, or B172 depending on model) while the bootloader has been unlocked or system-level access is exposed.

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 the vendor-provided firmware update to bring the device software to version B391, B175, B191, B162, B396SP03, B172, or later as specified for each model. Users should not grant unnecessary system-level privileges to untrusted applications.

Fix this in Honor 8 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
3.0 hours of engineering $750
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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-2017-8215 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
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