dbcve.org
Xperia L1 FirmwareOperating system · Sony

CVE-2018-14983

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2019-04-25
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
The Sony Xperia L1 Android device with a build fingerprint of Sony/G3313/G3313:7.0/43.0.A.6.49/2867558199:user/release-keys contains the android framework (i.e., system_server) with a package name of android (versionCode=24, versionName=7.0) that has been modified by Sony or another entity in the supply chain. The system_server process in the core android package has an exported broadcast receiver that allows any app co-located on the device to programmatically initiate the taking of a screenshot and have the resulting screenshot be written to external storage. The taking of a screenshot is not transparent to the user; the device has a screen animation as the screenshot is taken and there is a notification indicating that a screenshot occurred. If the attacking app also requests the EXPAND_STATUS_BAR permission, it can wake the device up using certain techniques and expand the status bar to take a screenshot of the user's notifications even if the device has an active screen lock. The notifications may contain sensitive data such as text messages used in two-factor authentication. The system_server process that provides this capability cannot be disabled, as it is part of the Android framework. The notification can be removed by a local Denial of Service (DoS) attack to reboot the device.

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

The Sony Xperia L1 ships with a modified Android framework containing an exported broadcast receiver in system_server that allows any co-located app to trigger screenshot capture and save to external storage. When combined with the EXPAND_STATUS_BAR permission, this enables capture of lock screen notifications (including sensitive 2FA SMS) by waking the device and expanding the status bar. The vulnerable component is part of the core Android framework and cannot be disabled.

MitigationNo user-configurable mitigation exists; the vulnerability requires Sony to release a firmware update that removes or secures the exported broadcast receiver in the modified system_server framework.

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
Xperia L1 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 device model
    Check the device model number in Settings > About Phone > Model Number, or run `getprop ro.product.model` via ADB shell
    Affected if The model is not Sony Xperia L1 (model number G3311, G3312, G3313, G3315, or G3316)
  2. Confirm firmware is Sony Xperia L1 stock firmware
    Check Settings > About Phone > Build Number, or run `getprop ro.build.fingerprint` via ADB shell to verify the build is a Sony Xperia L1 release
    Affected if The device is not a Sony Xperia L1 or is running a custom ROM (non-Sony firmware)
  3. Verify Android version
    Check Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run `getprop ro.build.version.release` via ADB shell
    Affected if This step confirms the device identity; all Android versions on the Xperia L1 are affected since all firmware versions are vulnerable

The device is affected if it is a Sony Xperia L1 (any firmware version) running the original Sony-modified Android framework, as the vulnerable exported broadcast receiver in system_server cannot be disabled or configured.

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

No user-configurable mitigation exists; the vulnerability requires Sony to release a firmware update that removes or secures the exported broadcast receiver in the modified system_server framework.

Fix this in Xperia L1 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,280
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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-2018-14983 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
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