CVE-2018-3561
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 · uneditedIn Android for MSM, Firefox OS for MSM, QRD Android, with all Android releases from CAF using the Linux kernel, a race condition in diag_ioctl_lsm_deinit() leads to a Use After Free condition.
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 confidenceA race condition in diag_ioctl_lsm_deinit() within the Qualcomm DIAG (Diagnostic) driver creates a Use After Free vulnerability in Android Linux kernels from CAF. An attacker with local access can exploit the timing window during deinitialization to cause memory corruption and potentially escalate privileges.
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 dataall versionsCVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check Android Security Patch LevelGo to Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level. On most Android devices, this displays the date of the most recent security update (e.g., "June 1, 2018" or later). Alternatively, run `getprop ro.build.version.security_patch` in a terminal or ADB shell.Affected if The Security Patch Level is earlier than the month when the fix was released (CVE-2018-3561 was fixed in Qualcomm's July 2018 CAF release cycle, typically propagated to Android devices in August-September 2018 security updates).
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Check kernel version for vulnerability windowRun `uname -r` in a terminal or ADB shell, or check /proc/version. Look for kernel versions built before the patch was integrated.Affected if The kernel version predates the patch integration date for this CVE in your specific device's kernel source.
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Verify DIAG driver presenceCheck if the DIAG driver is loaded or built into the kernel. Run `lsmod | grep diag` or check /sys/module/diag/` to see if the diag module exists. Also check /dev/diag or /dev/diag_mdlog device nodes.Affected if The diag kernel module is present and the device is vulnerable if the Security Patch Level is unpatched.
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Check device build fingerprintRun `getprop ro.build.fingerprint` in a terminal or ADB shell to get the full build identifier, which includes the security patch month in the string (e.g., "2018-06-01" or "2018-07-01").Affected if The build fingerprint shows a security patch date earlier than when this CVE was addressed.
The device is affected if the Android Security Patch Level predates the month the fix was released (generally August-September 2018), as all Android versions contain this vulnerable driver code until patched.
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 dataApply the Qualcomm CAF vendor patch for this kernel vulnerability and ensure Android devices receive the corresponding security update.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing24.0 h
- Review / QA12.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $16,384.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-3561 — 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-2018-3561 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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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.
- 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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