dbcve.org
Msm8996au FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2018-11948

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
Exceeding the limit of usage entries are not tracked and the information will be lost causing the content to lose continuity in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer Electronics Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Voice & Music in versions MSM8996AU, QCS605, SD 410/12, SD 425, SD 427, SD 430, SD 435, SD 439 / SD 429, SD 450, SD 625, SD 632, SD 636, 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

A usage tracking limitation in Snapdragon chipsets causes data loss when the number of tracked usage entries exceeds the configured limit. The untracked entries result in lost information and broken content continuity, affecting various Snapdragon product lines.

MitigationThis is a hardware/firmware-level vulnerability requiring patches from Qualcomm and subsequent deployment by device/OEM manufacturers. Users should apply firmware and security updates from their device vendors.

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
Msm8996au FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Qcs605 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 410 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 412 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 425 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 427 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 430 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 435 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
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/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 Snapdragon chipset model
    Check device or system information to determine the specific Snapdragon chipset in use. On Android devices, this can typically be found in Settings > About Phone > Chipset or by running 'getprop ro.hardware' or 'cat /proc/cpuinfo'. For IoT/embedded devices, consult the hardware specifications or device documentation.
    Affected if The chipset model matches one of the following: Msm8996au, Qcs605, Sd 410, Sd 412, Sd 425, Sd 427, Sd 430, or Sd 435
  2. Determine the firmware version
    Retrieve the firmware version of the Snapdragon chipset. On Android devices, this may be available through 'Settings > About Phone > Build Number' or by checking the modem firmware version via 'Settings > About Phone > SIM Status' or AT commands. For other devices, consult OEM documentation for firmware version retrieval methods.
    Affected if The firmware version is any version (all versions listed are affected)
  3. Confirm usage tracking functionality is in use
    The vulnerability manifests when usage tracking features that rely on the Snapdragon tracking subsystem exceed configured entry limits. Determine if the device or application utilizes usage tracking, statistics, or monitoring features that record user activity or content consumption.
    Affected if Usage tracking features are actively used and the number of tracked entries approaches or exceeds the configured limit, resulting in observed data loss or broken content continuity

A device is affected if it contains any of the listed Snapdragon chipsets (Msm8996au, Qcs605, Sd 410/412/425/427/430/435) with any firmware version and utilizes usage tracking functionality where entry limits can be exceeded.

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

This is a hardware/firmware-level vulnerability requiring patches from Qualcomm and subsequent deployment by device/OEM manufacturers. Users should apply firmware and security updates from their device vendors.

Fix this in Msm8996au Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,720
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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-2018-11948 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