CVE-2017-9680
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, if a pointer argument coming from userspace is invalid, a driver may use an uninitialized structure to log an error message.
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 confidenceA Qualcomm Linux kernel driver uses an uninitialized structure to log an error message when processing an invalid pointer argument from userspace. This can lead to information disclosure through exposure of uninitialized kernel memory contents or undefined behavior.
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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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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Identify if the device uses a Qualcomm chipsetCheck /proc/cpuinfo or dmesg for Qualcomm processor identifiers (e.g., 'Qualcomm', 'Snapdragon', 'msm' in kernel boot logs)Affected if Device runs on Qualcomm Snapdragon/ARM processor and Android OS
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Confirm Android OS presenceCheck /system/build.prop or run 'getprop ro.build.display.id' to verify Android operating systemAffected if Running Google Android on Qualcomm hardware
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Verify vulnerable kernel driver presenceCheck /proc/modules or lsmod for Qualcomm kernel driver modules related to the error logging path (typically in kernel memory management or IPC drivers). Use 'ls -la /sys/module | grep -i qualcomm' to list loaded Qualcomm modules.Affected if Qualcomm kernel driver modules are loaded and process userspace pointer arguments through the error logging path
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Check kernel patch levelInspect /proc/version or 'uname -a' output for kernel version and compare to Qualcomm CAF (Code Aurora Forum) patch dates around mid-2017. Check 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' for Android security patch level.Affected if Kernel security patch level is earlier than July 2017 security bulletin or not patched for this specific CAF issue
User is affected if running Android on Qualcomm hardware with an unpatched kernel where the error logging code path processes uninitialized structures from userspace pointer arguments.
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 Qualcomm/CAF kernel patch that properly initializes the structure before use in error logging. Users should update to the latest Qualcomm Android security bulletin patch level.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA6.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-9680 — 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-2017-9680 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
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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