dbcve.org
Ipq8074 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2018-11976

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2019-05-24
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
ECDSA signature code leaks private keys from secure world to non-secure world 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 IPQ8074, MDM9150, MDM9206, MDM9607, MDM9650, MDM9655, MSM8909W, MSM8996AU, QCA8081, QCS605, Qualcomm 215, 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 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

ECDSA signature implementation code running in the secure world (TrustZone) of Qualcomm Snapdragon processors leaks private keys to the non-secure world (rich OS). This allows malicious code in the non-secure world to recover cryptographic private keys used for ECDSA signatures, compromising the confidentiality of keys that should remain protected within the secure execution environment.

MitigationApply security firmware updates from Qualcomm and device OEMs to patch the TrustZone secure world code. Users should verify their devices receive and apply vendor security patches addressing this vulnerability.

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
Mdm9655 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Msm8909w FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Msm8996au 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 chipset model in your device
    Check the device specifications, system-on-chip (SoC) information, or boot logs for the exact Qualcomm Snapdragon model number (e.g., Msm8909w, Msm8996au, Mdm9650)
    Affected if The chipset matches any of the affected models: Ipq8074, Mdm9150, Mdm9206, Mdm9607, Mdm9650, Mdm9655, Msm8909w, or Msm8996au
  2. Determine if TrustZone/Trusted Execution Environment is enabled
    Check device security settings, boot configuration, or access TrustZone status through available diagnostic interfaces (e.g., checking /dev/tee or using vendor diagnostic tools)
    Affected if TrustZone is active and the device uses the secure world for cryptographic operations
  3. Check if ECDSA signing operations occur in the secure world
    Review application behavior, cryptographic key usage, or audit logs for ECDSA-based signature operations that leverage TrustZone-protected keys
    Affected if ECDSA keys are being used for signatures within the TrustZone secure environment on an affected chipset
  4. Locate the firmware version information
    Access the device firmware/bios information through vendor-provided tools, boot logs, or system information utilities that display the Qualcomm Snapdragon firmware version
    Affected if The firmware version is unpatched or unknown and the chipset is on the affected list

You are affected if your device contains any of the listed Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset models (Ipq8074, Mdm9150, Mdm9206, Mdm9607, Mdm9650, Mdm9655, Msm8909w, Msm8996au) and uses ECDSA cryptographic operations protected by TrustZone, with unpatched firmware.

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 security firmware updates from Qualcomm and device OEMs to patch the TrustZone secure world code. Users should verify their devices receive and apply vendor security patches addressing this vulnerability.

Fix this in Ipq8074 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation24.0 h
  • Testing16.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
56.0 hours of engineering $9,760
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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-2018-11976 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