dbcve.org
Mdm9206 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2018-11970

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2019-04-04
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
TZ App dynamic allocations not protected from XBL loader in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Consumer Electronics Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile in MDM9206, MDM9607, MDM9650, MDM9655, QCS605, SD 410/12, SD 636, SD 712 / SD 710 / SD 670, SD 845 / SD 850, SD 8CX, SDA660, SDM630, SDM660, 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

Memory protection vulnerability in Qualcomm Snapdragon processors where Trust Zone (TZ) application dynamic memory allocations are not properly protected from the XBL (X Boot Loader). This could allow memory corruption or privilege escalation from the bootloader context into the trusted execution environment.

MitigationApply firmware updates provided by Qualcomm and device manufacturers that patch the TZ App and XBL loader to properly protect dynamic memory allocations in the Trust Zone.

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
Mdm9206 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9607 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9650 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9655 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 636 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
    Check the device specifications or use commands like 'cat /proc/cpuinfo' on Android devices, or check system information on embedded devices to determine the exact Snapdragon or Qualcomm MDM chipset model
    Affected if The chipset matches one of the affected models: Mdm9206, Mdm9607, Mdm9650, Mdm9655, Qcs605, Sd 410, Sd 412, or Sd 636
  2. Verify the firmware version
    Check the bootloader/firmware version through device diagnostics, fastboot devices, or vendor-specific tools. On Android, check 'getprop ro.bootloader' or 'getprop ro.build.display.id'
    Affected if The device runs any firmware version on the affected chipsets (all versions are vulnerable)
  3. Confirm Trust Zone (TZ) is enabled
    Verify the Trust Zone trusted execution environment is active on the device. On Android devices, check /proc/secureos or use vendor diagnostic tools to confirm TZ status
    Affected if Trust Zone is enabled and the device uses an affected chipset (TZ is required for this vulnerability to be exploitable)
  4. Check XBL bootloader configuration
    Inspect the XBL (X Boot Loader) configuration through fastboot oem info or vendor-specific bootloader diagnostic tools to verify if dynamic memory allocations are accessible from the bootloader context
    Affected if XBL bootloader is present and accessible, and dynamic memory regions are not properly isolated from the bootloader context

The device is affected if it uses any of the listed Qualcomm chipsets (Mdm9206, Mdm9607, Mdm9650, Mdm9655, Qcs605, Sd 410, Sd 412, Sd 636) with Trust Zone enabled, regardless of firmware version, since all versions of these chipsets are vulnerable.

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 Qualcomm and device manufacturers that patch the TZ App and XBL loader to properly protect dynamic memory allocations in the Trust Zone.

Fix this in Mdm9206 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing16.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
38.0 hours of engineering $6,440
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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-2018-11970 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