CVE-2018-11305
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 · uneditedWhen a series of FDAL messages are sent to the modem, a Use After Free condition can occur in Snapdragon Automobile, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Wear in version MDM9206, MDM9607, MDM9640, MDM9650, MSM8909W, MSM8996AU, SD 210/SD 212/SD 205, SD 425, SD 430, SD 450, SD 615/16/SD 415, SD 617, SD 625, SD 650/52, SD 820, SD 820A, SD 835, SD 845, SDA660, SDX20.
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 Use After Free vulnerability exists in Qualcomm Snapdragon modem firmware. When a specific series of FDAL (FDA Layer?) messages are sent to the modem, memory is freed but then accessed afterward, leading to potential 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 versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall 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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the Qualcomm modem chipset in your deviceCheck device specifications, modem firmware settings, or AT command interface (e.g., ATI command) to determine the exact Qualcomm modem model (Mdm9206, Mdm9607, Mdm9640, Mdm9650, Msm8909w, Msm8996au, Sd 210, or Sd 212)Affected if The device contains any of the listed affected modem chipsets (Mdm9206, Mdm9607, Mdm9640, Mdm9650, Msm8909w, Msm8996au, Sd 210, or Sd 212)
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Retrieve the current modem firmware versionUse vendor-specific commands (such as AT+CGMR, ATI, or through device diagnostics/engineering mode) to query the installed modem firmware versionAffected if The firmware version cannot be determined or is any version for the affected chipsets, as all versions are vulnerable
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Confirm the modem FDAL message processing is activeReview modem or baseband logs for any FDAL (FDA Layer) message activity if logging is available; otherwise, note that this is a passive vulnerability triggered by received messagesAffected if The modem is actively processing FDAL messages (this is the default operational state for affected modems)
You are affected if your device contains any of the listed Qualcomm modem chipsets (Mdm9206, Mdm9607, Mdm9640, Mdm9650, Msm8909w, Msm8996au, Sd 210, Sd 212), as all firmware versions for these chipsets are vulnerable to the Use After Free via specially crafted FDAL messages.
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 firmware/security patch released for this CVE through your device OEM. This is a firmware-level issue requiring a vendor update; no workarounds are available.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Testing16.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-11305 — 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-2018-11305 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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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.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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