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Ipq8074 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2018-11938

HIGH · 7.8 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 →
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
Improper input validation for argument received from HLOS can lead to buffer overflows and unexpected behavior in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer Electronics Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon IoT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Voice & Music, Snapdragon Wearables, Snapdragon Wired Infrastructure and Networking in versions IPQ8074, MDM9150, MDM9206, MDM9607, MDM9650, MSM8909W, MSM8996AU, QCA8081, 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 615/16/SD 415, 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 · high confidence

Improper input validation in Snapdragon firmware for arguments received from the High-Level Operating System (HLOS) allows malformed inputs to trigger buffer overflows, potentially leading to code execution or system instability. The vulnerability affects baseband and peripheral subsystems in mobile, IoT, compute, and networking chipsets.

MitigationApply vendor-supplied firmware updates from OEMs/device manufacturers. Until patches are available, limit attack surface by avoiding untrusted HLOS applications and network inputs to affected devices.

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
Mdm9150 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9206 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9607 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9650 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Msm8909w FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Msm8996au FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Qca8081 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 chipset model
    Check the device specifications, system information, or hardware ID. On Linux systems, try 'cat /proc/cpuinfo' or check '/sys/class/*' entries. On Android, check 'Settings > About Phone' or use 'getprop' command. For networking equipment, consult the datasheet or administrative interface.
    Affected if The chipset model matches one of these: Ipq8074, Mdm9150, Mdm9206, Mdm9607, Msm8909w, Msm8996au, or Qca8081
  2. Confirm it is a Qualcomm Snapdragon device
    Verify the device uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset by checking the product documentation, boot logs, or running 'lspci' or 'lsusb' to list hardware components.
    Affected if The device is not manufactured by Qualcomm or does not use a Snapdragon chipset, the device is likely not affected by this specific CVE.
  3. Check firmware version
    Access the firmware version through the device's administrative interface, boot logs, or firmware update mechanism. For mobile devices, check 'Settings > About Phone > Build Number' or use 'getprop ro.build.version.incremental'. For IoT/network devices, consult the management console or use 'cat /proc/version'.
    Affected if All firmware versions of the affected chipsets are vulnerable; the presence of any unpatched firmware version confirms exposure.
  4. Determine if HLOS interfaces are accessible
    Check whether applications or network services can send inputs to baseband or peripheral subsystems. On mobile devices, this relates to modem communication. On IoT/network devices, check if external APIs, debug ports, or network services can pass data to the baseband processor.
    Affected if The device accepts untrusted inputs from applications or network sources to the baseband/peripheral subsystems, increasing exploitation likelihood.

A device is affected if it uses any of the listed Qualcomm chipset models (Ipq8074, Mdm9150, Mdm9206, Mdm9607, Msm8909w, Msm8996au, Qca8081) and runs any firmware version, particularly if it exposes interfaces to the HLOS that can receive malformed inputs.

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 vendor-supplied firmware updates from OEMs/device manufacturers. Until patches are available, limit attack surface by avoiding untrusted HLOS applications and network inputs to affected devices.

Fix this in Ipq8074 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation40.0 h
  • Testing24.0 h
  • Review / QA12.0 h
84.0 hours of engineering $14,560
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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-2018-11938 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