dbcve.org
Mdm9150 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2018-11845

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2019-02-25
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
Usage of non-time-constant comparison functions can lead to information leakage through side channel analysis in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer Electronics Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Voice & Music in versions MDM9150, MDM9206, MDM9607, MDM9650, MDM9655, MSM8996AU, QCS605, SD 210/SD 212/SD 205, SD 410/12, SD 425, SD 427, SD 430, SD 435, SD 439 / SD 429, SD 450, SD 625, SD 632, SD 636, SD 650/52, SD 675, SD 712 / SD 710 / SD 670, SD 820, SD 820A, SD 835, SD 845 / SD 850, SD 8CX, SDA660, SDM439, SDM630, SDM660, Snapdragon_High_Med_2016, SXR1130.

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

The vulnerability involves the use of non-time-constant comparison functions in affected Snapdragon processors. These functions create timing side channels where the execution time varies based on the data being compared, potentially allowing attackers to infer sensitive information like cryptographic keys or passwords through precise timing measurements.

MitigationApply firmware updates provided by the device/OEM manufacturer. Where patches are unavailable, implement cryptographic operations using constant-time comparison functions and avoid timing-sensitive comparisons on sensitive data.

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
Mdm9150 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9206 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9607 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9650 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9655 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Msm8996au FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Qcs605 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 210 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
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the Qualcomm chipset model
    Check the device hardware specifications, system information, or boot logs for the Snapdragon or MDM processor model number (e.g., Mdm9150, Mdm9206, Mdm9607, Mdm9650, Mdm9655, Msm8996au, Qcs605, Sd 210)
    Affected if The chipset matches any of the affected models: Mdm9150, Mdm9206, Mdm9607, Mdm9650, Mdm9655, Msm8996au, Qcs605, or Sd 210
  2. Determine the firmware version
    Check the firmware version of the Qualcomm chipset via device diagnostics, AT commands, or firmware metadata. For embedded devices, this may require accessing the bootloader or firmware image
    Affected if The firmware version cannot be determined or exists on any version of the affected chipsets (all versions are listed as affected)
  3. Audit code for non-constant-time comparison usage
    Review application and system code for use of standard comparison functions like strcmp, memcmp, orbcmp on sensitive data such as cryptographic keys, passwords, tokens, or HMAC values. Search for these function calls in the codebase
    Affected if The system code uses strcmp, memcmp, or similar functions to compare cryptographic secrets, passwords, or other timing-sensitive data without using timing-safe alternatives like timing_independent_compare or OpenSSL's CRYPTO_memcmp
  4. Verify cryptographic implementations
    Inspect cryptographic libraries and implementations on the device to determine if they use constant-time comparison functions for secret validation. Check whether password verification, key validation, or HMAC verification employs timing-safe comparisons
    Affected if Password verification, key comparison, or HMAC validation relies on timing-vulnerable comparison functions rather than constant-time alternatives

A system is affected if it uses any of the listed Qualcomm chipset models (Mdm9150, Mdm9206, Mdm9607, Mdm9650, Mdm9655, Msm8996au, Qcs605, Sd 210) and performs sensitive comparisons (passwords, cryptographic keys, tokens) using standard non-constant-time functions like strcmp or memcmp.

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 firmware updates provided by the device/OEM manufacturer. Where patches are unavailable, implement cryptographic operations using constant-time comparison functions and avoid timing-sensitive comparisons on sensitive data.

Fix this in Mdm9150 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation24.0 h
  • Testing16.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
56.0 hours of engineering $9,760
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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-2018-11845 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