CVE-2018-17400
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 · uneditedThe PhonePe wallet (aka com.PhonePe.app) application 3.0.6 through 3.3.26 for Android might allow attackers to perform Account Takeover attacks by intercepting the user name and PIN during the initial configuration of the application. NOTE: the vendor says that, to exploit this, the user has to explicitly install a malicious app and provide accessibility permission to the malicious app, that the Android platform provides fair warnings to the users before turning on accessibility for any application, and that it believes it is similar to installing malicious keyboards, or malicious apps taking screenshots
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 confidenceThe PhonePe wallet Android app (versions 3.0.6-3.3.26) allows a malicious app with accessibility permissions to intercept user credentials (username and PIN) during initial configuration. Accessibility services can read screen content, and the app does not appear to protect sensitive input fields from being captured by such services.
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>= 3.0.6, <= 3.3.26CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the installed PhonePe app versionOpen Android Settings > Apps > PhonePe, or use ADB command: `adb shell dumpsys package com.phonepe.app` to retrieve the versionName and versionCodeAffected if The installed version falls within 3.0.6 through 3.3.26 inclusive
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Verify if accessibility services are granted to any applicationNavigate to Android Settings > Accessibility > Services, or inspect system settings via ADB: `adb shell settings get secure enabled_accessibility_services`Affected if Accessibility permissions are granted to any application on the device, particularly to unknown or untrusted apps
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Review installed applications for suspicious apps requesting accessibility permissionsUse ADB to list all packages with accessibility permission: `adb shell dumpsys package | grep -A 5 "android.permission.BIND_ACCESSIBILITY_SERVICE"`Affected if Any third-party or unknown application has been granted accessibility permissions that could potentially intercept screen content
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Check for apps with permission to view screen content during PIN entryWhile the PhonePe app is running, use Android Settings to examine which services have overlay or screen-reading capabilities enabledAffected if Any service is enabled that can read on-screen text during credential entry fields like username or PIN input
A device is affected if the installed PhonePe wallet version is between 3.0.6 and 3.3.26 AND any application on the device has been granted accessibility service permissions, which could allow credential interception during the app's initial configuration flow.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataImplement input field protection measures to prevent accessibility services from capturing sensitive fields like PIN entry, or redesign the authentication flow to use system-level secure input mechanisms that block screen readers and accessibility services from reading credentials.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,960.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-17400 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-17400 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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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