dbcve.org
Mdm9206 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2018-12012

HIGH · 7.8 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 →
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
While updating blacklisting region shared buffered memory region is not validated against newly updated black list, causing boot-up to be compromised in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Consumer Electronics Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Voice & Music, Snapdragon Wearables in MDM9206, MDM9607, MDM9650, MDM9655, QCS605, SD 210/SD 212/SD 205, SD 410/12, SD 615/16/SD 415, SD 712 / SD 710 / SD 670, SD 835, SD 845 / SD 850, SD 8CX, 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

The vulnerability exists in the memory blacklist validation logic within Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset boot components. When the blacklisted region for shared buffered memory is updated, the system fails to validate the newly updated blacklist, allowing compromised memory regions to be used during boot-up. This bypasses secure boot protections.

MitigationApply vendor-provided firmware updates from Qualcomm and device OEMs to address the blacklist validation flaw. Organizations should inventory affected devices and coordinate with OEMs for patch deployment.

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 210 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 212 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 205 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 in your environment
    Check device documentation, system BIOS/UEFI information, or use commands like 'lspci', 'dmidecode', or vendor-specific tools to identify the Snapdragon chipset model. For embedded devices, check the BOM or hardware specifications.
    Affected if The chipset model is one of: Mdm9206, Mdm9607, Mdm9650, Mdm9655, Qcs605, Sd 210, Sd 212, or Sd 205
  2. Confirm the firmware version running on the chipset
    Access the boot firmware or baseband firmware version through vendor-specific diagnostic tools, debug interfaces, or device management interfaces. Query the modem or baseband processor subsystem.
    Affected if Any firmware version is installed on one of the affected chipset models (all versions are affected)
  3. Determine if secure boot with memory blacklist protection is enabled
    Check the secure boot configuration in the boot chain settings, TZ (Trust Zone) configuration, or boot loader settings. Look for memory protection or blacklist feature status.
    Affected if Secure boot with memory blacklist validation is configured - the vulnerability allows bypass of this protection when blacklist updates occur

You are affected if your device uses any of the listed Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset models (Mdm9206, Mdm9607, Mdm9650, Mdm9655, Qcs605, Sd 210, Sd 212, Sd 205) with firmware that supports the memory blacklist feature, as all firmware versions for these chipsets contain the flaw.

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-provided firmware updates from Qualcomm and device OEMs to address the blacklist validation flaw. Organizations should inventory affected devices and coordinate with OEMs for patch deployment.

Fix this in Mdm9206 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation16.0 h
  • Implementation24.0 h
  • Testing40.0 h
  • Review / QA12.0 h
92.0 hours of engineering $15,680
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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-2018-12012 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
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