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Ipq8074 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2018-11849

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-10-26
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
Lack of check on out of range of bssid parameter When processing scan start command will lead to buffer flow in Snapdragon Automobile, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Wear in version IPQ8074, MDM9206, MDM9607, MDM9635M, MDM9640, MDM9650, MSM8996AU, QCA4531, QCA6174A, QCA6564, QCA6574, QCA6574AU, QCA6584, QCA6584AU, QCA9377, QCA9378, QCA9379, QCA9886, SD 210/SD 212/SD 205, SD 425, SD 427, SD 430, SD 435, SD 450, SD 600, SD 625, SD 650/52, SD 810, SD 820, SD 820A, SD 835, SD 845, SD 850, SDA660, SDM630, SDM632, SDM636, SDM660, SDM710, SDX20, Snapdragon_High_Med_2016

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

Buffer overflow vulnerability in Qualcomm Snapdragon WiFi driver when processing scan start commands. The bssid parameter lacks bounds checking, allowing an out-of-range value to overflow a buffer. This affects multiple Snapdragon chipset generations used in mobile devices, wearables, and automotive systems.

MitigationApply OEM/firmware updates provided by device manufacturers for affected Snapdragon chipsets. Until patches are available, disable WiFi scanning functionality or restrict network exposure to trusted environments.

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
Ipq8074 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9206 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9607 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9635m FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9640 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9650 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Msm8996au FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Qca4531 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 model in your device
    Check device specifications, system information, or bootloader/dmesg output for the chipset identifier (e.g., ipq8074, mdm9206, msm8996au)
    Affected if The chipset matches one of these models: Ipq8074, Mdm9206, Mdm9607, Mdm9635m, Mdm9640, Mdm9650, Msm8996au, or Qca4531
  2. Determine the WiFi firmware/driver version
    Inspect the WiFi driver module information via /sys/module/wlan*/version or check wlan driver firmware files in /lib/firmware/qca/ (for Linux-based devices), or view WiFi driver details in device system info
    Affected if The WiFi driver version cannot be determined or is not explicitly listed as patched in vendor release notes
  3. Verify if WiFi scanning functionality is present
    Check if the WiFi interface supports scan operations: run 'iw dev <interface> scan' or check wpa_supplicant configuration, or verify wlan module is loaded via 'lsmod | grep wlan'
    Affected if WiFi scanning commands execute without error, indicating the scan functionality is available and the vulnerable code path could be triggered
  4. Check for vendor firmware update availability
    Review the device manufacturer release notes, security advisories, or firmware update settings for your specific device model to see if CVE-2018-11849 is addressed
    Affected if No security patch for this CVE is listed in available firmware updates, or the device remains on the original affected firmware version

Your device is affected if it contains any of the listed Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets (Ipq8074, Mdm9206, Mdm9607, Mdm9635m, Mdm9640, Mdm9650, Msm8996au, Qca4531) with WiFi scanning capability and lacks the corresponding CVE-2018-11849 security update.

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 OEM/firmware updates provided by device manufacturers for affected Snapdragon chipsets. Until patches are available, disable WiFi scanning functionality or restrict network exposure to trusted environments.

Fix this in Ipq8074 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
30.0 hours of engineering $5,200
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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-2018-11849 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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