CVE-2017-9685
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, a race condition in a WLAN 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 confidenceA race condition in a Qualcomm WLAN driver for Android devices using CAF Linux kernel releases can lead to a Use After Free (UAF) vulnerability. The race condition allows memory to be accessed after it has been freed, potentially enabling code execution or denial of service.
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
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the kernel version and build sourceRun 'cat /proc/version' or 'uname -a' to examine the kernel string. Look for 'CAF' (Code Aurora Forum), 'QC' (Qualcomm), or 'Qualcomm' in the version information.Affected if The kernel version string contains Qualcomm CAF references and the device runs Android
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Confirm Android platformVerify the device is running Android by checking for /system/build.prop or running 'getprop ro.build.id' if ADB is available.Affected if The device is confirmed to be running any version of Android
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Check for Qualcomm WLAN driver moduleExamine loaded kernel modules using 'lsmod' (if available) or check /proc/modules. Look for WLAN-related modules such as wlan, qcom_wlan, wcnss, or similar Qualcomm wireless driver modules.Affected if A Qualcomm WLAN driver module is loaded or present in the kernel
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Identify the specific driver componentCheck /sys/module/ for wireless driver directories, or examine kernel config at /proc/config.gz (if available) for CONFIG_QCOM_WLAN or similar CONFIG flags.Affected if The kernel configuration or module hierarchy shows a Qualcomm WLAN driver component is compiled into the kernel
The device is affected if it runs Android with a Qualcomm WLAN driver built from CAF Linux kernel sources, as indicated by kernel version strings containing CAF/Qualcomm identifiers and the presence of Qualcomm wireless driver modules.
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 vendor-supplied patches for the Qualcomm WLAN driver; until then, restrict device network exposure and monitor for unusual WLAN activity. This is a kernel-level driver issue requiring vendor firmware updates.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing10.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,928.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-9685 — 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-2017-9685 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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