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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2017-9684

HIGH · 7.0 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-08-18
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
73/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
In all Qualcomm products with Android releases from CAF using the Linux kernel, a race condition in a USB driver can lead to a Use After Free condition.

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 confidence

A race condition in a USB driver within the Linux kernel used in Qualcomm Android devices (Code Aurora Forum releases) can lead to a Use After Free (UAF) vulnerability. The race condition allows an attacker to potentially access memory that has been freed, which could result in local privilege escalation or denial of service.

MitigationApply vendor-supplied security patches for Android; as an interim measure, avoid connecting untrusted USB devices and monitor for unexpected USB driver 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 data
AndroidOperating system
Affected:all versions

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
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/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 device and processor platform
    Check if the Android device uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. On the device, run 'getprop' or check /proc/cpuinfo to identify the hardware platform and processor. Alternatively, check the device specifications or kernel configuration.
    Affected if The device is not a Qualcomm-based Android device - this vulnerability only affects Qualcomm Code Aurora Forum Linux kernels used in Android devices.
  2. Determine kernel version and source
    Run 'uname -a' or check /proc/version to retrieve the kernel version. Identify if it is a CAF (Code Aurora Forum) release kernel by checking the kernel configuration or build information.
    Affected if The kernel version cannot be determined or is not a Qualcomm CAF release - the vulnerability exists in USB driver code within these specific kernel releases.
  3. Verify USB subsystem is active
    Check if USB is enabled and the USB driver modules are loaded. Run 'lsmod' to list loaded kernel modules and look for USB-related drivers (usbcore, usbcore modules, etc.). Alternatively, check /sys/bus/usb/devices/ to verify USB enumeration.
    Affected if USB subsystem is not loaded or active - the vulnerability cannot be triggered as it exists within the USB driver code path.
  4. Check USB driver configuration
    Examine which USB gadget or host drivers are in use. Check /config or kernel config for USB_GADGET, USB_GSI, or other USB driver configurations. On the device, inspect /sys/class/usb_role/ or check USB device tree.
    Affected if No USB drivers are configured or the device does not support USB device/host modes - the race condition requires the specific USB driver code path to be executed.
  5. Inspect USB driver for UAF-prone code patterns
    If kernel source is available, search the USB driver code for the race condition pattern between USB cable events and USB driver operations. Look for code sections handling USB device connection/disconnection that perform memory allocation and freeing without proper synchronization.
    Affected if The specific vulnerable USB driver code containing the race condition is present in the running kernel - the UAF vulnerability exists when the timing race between USB events can be triggered.

A user is affected if they run a Qualcomm-based Android device with a Code Aurora Forum kernel that includes the vulnerable USB driver with USB functionality enabled, as the race condition requires the USB driver code path to be executed.

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 vendor-supplied security patches for Android; as an interim measure, avoid connecting untrusted USB devices and monitor for unexpected USB driver behavior.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2017-9684 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