CVE-2017-8261
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 · uneditedIn all Qualcomm products with Android releases from CAF using the Linux kernel, in a camera driver ioctl, a kernel overwrite can potentially occur.
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 · moderate confidenceA kernel memory overwrite vulnerability exists in the Qualcomm camera driver ioctl within Android devices using CAF Linux kernel builds. The flaw allows a local attacker to potentially overwrite kernel memory, likely leading to privilege escalation from userland to root/kernel privileges.
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 dataall versionsCVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify device uses Qualcomm SoCCheck /proc/cpuinfo or /sys/devices/soc0/family for 'Qualcomm' or 'Snapdragon' identifiers. Alternatively, check /sys/class/socinfo or review the device specifications.Affected if The device does not contain a Qualcomm chipset - the vulnerability only affects Qualcomm camera driver components.
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Confirm CAF kernel build is in useRun 'uname -a' and examine the kernel build string. Look for 'CAF', 'CodeAurora', or Qualcomm-specific kernel build identifiers in the version output.Affected if The kernel is not built by Qualcomm/CAF - this vulnerability exists specifically in CAF Linux kernel builds.
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Identify camera driver module presenceCheck /proc/modules or run 'lsmod' for camera-related Qualcomm modules such as 'msm_camera', 'camera', 'vfe', 'cci', or similar Qualcomm camera subsystem modules.Affected if No Qualcomm camera driver modules are loaded or present on the device.
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Verify camera subsystem is accessibleCheck for presence of /dev/video* devices, /sys/class/video4linux, or camera-related device nodes. Verify camera daemon processes are running.Affected if The camera subsystem is not instantiated or accessible on the device.
The device is affected if it uses a Qualcomm SoC with a CAF-built kernel that has the Qualcomm camera driver loaded and the camera subsystem is accessible.
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 Qualcomm/CAF Android security updates that include the camera driver kernel patch. Users should ensure their devices receive the latest Android security patch level.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation24.0 h
- Testing16.0 h
- Review / QA12.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $16,768.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-8261 — 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-2017-8261 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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