dbcve.org
Mdm9206 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2018-13920

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
Use-after-free condition due to Improper handling of hrtimers when the PMU driver tries to access its events in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Wearables in MDM9206, MDM9607, MDM9650, MSM8909W, QCS605, Qualcomm 215, SD 425, SD 439 / SD 429, SD 450, SD 625, SD 632, SD 636, SD 712 / SD 710 / SD 670, SD 820A, SD 845 / SD 850, SD 855, SDM439, SDM630, SDM660, SDX24

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 use-after-free vulnerability exists in the PMU (Performance Monitoring Unit) driver in Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets. The issue stems from improper handling of hrtimers (high-resolution timers) when the PMU driver attempts to access its events, leading to a memory corruption condition where memory is accessed after it has been freed.

MitigationApply vendor-provided firmware/security updates for affected Snapdragon chipsets. Since this is a kernel driver issue in embedded processors, the fix requires a patch from the device OEM or Qualcomm along with a system firmware update - no user-facing configuration can remediate 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
Mdm9206 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9607 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9650 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Msm8909w FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Qcs605 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Qm215 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 425 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 439 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 Snapdragon chipset model
    Query the system for chipset information. On Linux, run: cat /proc/cpuinfo or check dmesg for 'Snapdragon', 'MSM', 'MDM' identifiers. On Android, use: getprop ro.board.platform or cat /sys/devices/soc0/family
    Affected if The chipset model matches any of these: Mdm9206, Mdm9607, Mdm9650, Msm8909w, Qcs605, Qm215, Sd 425, or Sd 439
  2. Confirm the PMU driver is present
    Check if the Performance Monitoring Unit driver is loaded. On Linux systems, examine /proc/modules or use lsmod to look for 'perf' or 'pmu' related modules. Check dmesg for PMU driver initialization messages.
    Affected if The PMU driver is loaded and active on an affected chipset
  3. Check the current firmware version
    Retrieve firmware version information. On Qualcomm devices, this may be found in /sys/firmware/devicetree/base/model, via getprop (Android), or through vendor-specific tools. Check /proc/version for kernel build details that may include firmware timestamps.
    Affected if The firmware version is any version of the affected chipsets (the advisory states all versions are affected)
  4. Verify kernel supports high-resolution timers
    Check if hrtimers are enabled in the kernel. On Linux, run: cat /proc/config.gz | gunzip | grep CONFIG_HIGH_RES_TIMERS, or check /sys/kernel/time/timer_hires. This is typically enabled by default on affected mobile/embedded platforms.
    Affected if High-resolution timers are enabled on a system with an affected chipset (required condition for the vulnerability)

A system is affected if it uses any of the listed Qualcomm chipsets (Mdm9206, Mdm9607, Mdm9650, Msm8909w, Qcs605, Qm215, Sd 425, Sd 439) with PMU driver and hrtimer support enabled, regardless of firmware version.

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/security updates for affected Snapdragon chipsets. Since this is a kernel driver issue in embedded processors, the fix requires a patch from the device OEM or Qualcomm along with a system firmware update - no user-facing configuration can remediate this vulnerability.

Fix this in Mdm9206 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-2018-13920 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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