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Mdm9206 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2018-11971

MEDIUM · 5.5 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 →
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
Interrupt exit code flow may undermine access control policy set forth by secure world can lead to potential secure asset leakage 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 615/16/SD 415, 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 · moderate confidence

A vulnerability in the interrupt exit code flow within Qualcomm Snapdragon processors running ARM TrustZone can undermine access control policies enforced in the secure world (TEE). This flaw may allow an attacker to potentially leak secure assets stored in the trusted execution environment by manipulating how interrupts are handled during the exit code path from secure to normal world.

MitigationApply vendor-supplied firmware patches for affected Snapdragon chipsets. Users should update their devices to the latest firmware version provided by their device OEM. This is a hardware/firmware-level issue requiring patches from Qualcomm and subsequent OEM distribution.

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 615 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
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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 Qualcomm Snapdragon processor model
    Check the device specifications or system information to determine the exact Snapdragon chipset model (e.g., Mdm9206, Mdm9607, Mdm9650, Mdm9655, Qcs605,Sd410, Sd412, Sd615)
    Affected if The processor model matches any of the following: Mdm9206, Mdm9607, Mdm9650, Mdm9655, Qcs605, Sd410, Sd412, or Sd615
  2. Verify ARM TrustZone/TEE is enabled
    Check device configuration or system settings to confirm the Trusted Execution Environment (TrustZone) is active on the device
    Affected if TrustZone/TEE is enabled and the processor is one of the affected models listed
  3. Check the firmware version of the Snapdragon chipset
    Use device diagnostics, engineering mode, or contact the device OEM to retrieve the current firmware version installed on the Snapdragon processor
    Affected if The installed firmware version has not been patched to address CVE-2018-11971 (compare your installed version to the affected ranges and any vendor-supplied patch information)
  4. Confirm if security patches have been applied
    Check the device's security patch level (typically found in Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level) and verify with the OEM if the specific CVE-2018-11971 fix is included
    Affected if The device is running firmware without the vendor-supplied patch for this specific vulnerability

The device is affected if it uses any of the listed Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets (Mdm9206, Mdm9607, Mdm9650, Mdm9655, Qcs605, Sd410, Sd412, Sd615) and the firmware has not been updated to include the vendor patch for CVE-2018-11971.

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 patches for affected Snapdragon chipsets. Users should update their devices to the latest firmware version provided by their device OEM. This is a hardware/firmware-level issue requiring patches from Qualcomm and subsequent OEM distribution.

Fix this in Mdm9206 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
44.0 hours of engineering $7,720
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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-2018-11971 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