dbcve.org
Msm8909w FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2018-11277

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-09-20
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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
In Snapdragon (Automobile, Mobile, Wear) in version MSM8909W, MSM8996AU, SD 210/SD 212/SD 205, SD 430, SD 450, SD 615/16/SD 415, SD 617, SD 625, SD 650/52, SD 810, SD 820, SD 820A, SD 835, SD 845, SDA660, the com.qualcomm.embms is a vendor package deployed in the system image which has an inadequate permission level and allows any application installed from Play Store to request this permission at install-time. The system application interfaces with the Radio Interface Layer leading to potential access control issue.

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

The com.qualcomm.embms system application exposes a protected permission at an inadequate protection level, allowing any third-party application installed from the Play Store to request this permission at install-time. This grants the requesting application potential access to the Radio Interface Layer (RIL) through the eMBMS component, creating an access control bypass.

MitigationThis vulnerability requires a vendor firmware update from Qualcomm and/or device OEMs to change the permission protection level from installable to signature-level or system-level. Users should apply OEM security patches promptly.

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
Msm8909w FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Msm8996au FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd210 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd212 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd205 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd430 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd450 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd615 FirmwareOperating 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
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 the Qualcomm chipset and firmware version
    Check the device build information or use 'getprop ro.board.platform' and 'getprop ro.build.description' to identify the Qualcomm chipset (e.g., msm8909w, msm8996au, sd210, sd212, sd205, sd430, sd450, sd615) and firmware version
    Affected if The chipset matches any of the affected models (Msm8909w, Msm8996au, Sd210, Sd212, Sd205, Sd430, Sd450, Sd615) - all versions of these are affected
  2. Verify com.qualcomm.embms system application is present
    Check if the package com.qualcomm.embms exists on the device using 'pm list packages | grep embms' or 'dumpsys package com.qualcomm.embms'
    Affected if The com.qualcomm.embms package is installed on the device - the vulnerability exists in this application
  3. Inspect the permission protection level for the exposed permission
    Decompile the com.qualcomm.embms APK (from /system/app/embms or /system/priv-app) and examine the AndroidManifest.xml for the permission definition; check the 'android:protectionLevel' attribute
    Affected if The protectionLevel is set to 'normal' or 'dangerous' instead of 'signature' or 'signatureOrSystem' - this allows any third-party app to request the permission at install-time
  4. Check if third-party applications hold the exposed permission
    Use 'dumpsys package <package_name>' for installed apps and look for the specific permission granted by com.qualcomm.embms, or use 'pm list permissions -d' to list dangerous permissions
    Affected if Any third-party application (non-system, non-signed by the same certificate as embms) is granted the permission - this confirms active exploitation or vulnerable state

The environment is affected if the device uses any of the listed Qualcomm firmware versions AND contains the com.qualcomm.embms application with a permission protection level that allows third-party apps to obtain it at install time.

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

This vulnerability requires a vendor firmware update from Qualcomm and/or device OEMs to change the permission protection level from installable to signature-level or system-level. Users should apply OEM security patches promptly.

Fix this in Msm8909w Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,920
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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-2018-11277 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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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