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Sd 845 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2018-11859

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-10-29
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
Buffer overwrite can happen in WLAN due to lack of validation of the input length in Snapdragon Mobile in version SD 845, SD 850.

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

A buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the WLAN driver component of Qualcomm Snapdragon Mobile chipsets (SD 845, SD 850). The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of input length before copying data into a fixed-size buffer, allowing an attacker to overwrite adjacent memory by supplying overly long input to the WLAN subsystem.

MitigationApply the firmware update released by Qualcomm and distributed through device manufacturers. Until patches are available, limit exposure by avoiding untrusted WiFi networks.

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
Sd 845 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 850 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 your device chipset model
    Check your device specifications or use system information tools (e.g., 'lspci' on Linux, 'system_profiler' on macOS, or check Android 'About phone' settings) to identify the Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset version
    Affected if The chipset is Qualcomm SD 845 or SD 850 - these are the only affected models listed in this CVE
  2. Confirm WLAN/WiFi hardware is present
    Verify that the device has WLAN capability by checking hardware listings (e.g., 'lspci | grep -i wifi', 'iwconfig', or Android WiFi settings)
    Affected if WLAN hardware exists and is accessible to the system - the vulnerability resides in the WLAN driver component
  3. Check WLAN driver/firmware version
    Query the WLAN driver or firmware version using available tools such as 'iw list', 'wpa_supplicant -v', or vendor-specific diagnostic tools. On Android, check 'Settings > About phone > Wi-Fi MAC address' or use kernel logs via 'dmesg | grep wlan'
    Affected if The WLAN driver or firmware version is present and can be queried - all versions of SD 845 and SD 850 firmware are affected according to the advisory
  4. Verify WLAN interface is active or configured
    Check if WLAN interface exists and is enabled using commands like 'ip link show', 'ifconfig', or checking the wireless adapter status in the OS network settings
    Affected if The WLAN interface is present and operational - the buffer overflow occurs when processing WLAN input, so the interface being active exposes the attack surface
  5. Review vendor security advisories
    Check the device manufacturer's support pages or Qualcomm's security bulletins for firmware update availability related to CVE-2018-11859
    Affected if No vendor firmware update has been applied - the advisory states all versions of affected firmware are vulnerable and the fix requires an updated firmware release

You are affected if your device uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon SD 845 or SD 850 chipset with WLAN enabled, and the vendor-specific firmware has not been patched to address this buffer overflow vulnerability in the WLAN driver.

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 the firmware update released by Qualcomm and distributed through device manufacturers. Until patches are available, limit exposure by avoiding untrusted WiFi networks.

Fix this in Sd 845 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,420
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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-2018-11859 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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