CVE-2018-3563
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 Qualcomm Android for MSM, Firefox OS for MSM, and QRD Android with all Android releases from CAF using the Linux kernel before security patch level 2018-04-05, untrusted pointer dereference in apr_cb_func can lead to an arbitrary code execution.
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 confidenceUntrusted pointer dereference vulnerability in the apr_cb_func callback within Qualcomm's Audio Processor Routing (APR) subsystem. This kernel-level flaw affects Android devices using Qualcomm MSM chipsets with Linux kernel versions prior to the April 2018 security patch level, potentially allowing local privilege escalation to arbitrary code execution.
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
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/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 chipset vendorCheck /proc/cpuinfo or /sys/devices/soc0/vendor for 'Qualcomm' or 'MSM' to confirm the device uses a Qualcomm MSM chipset. On Android, you can also check via 'getprop' commands or in /system/build.prop for hardware info.Affected if The device does NOT use a Qualcomm MSM chipset - this vulnerability only affects devices with these chipsets.
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Check the kernel versionRun 'uname -r' or read /proc/version to obtain the kernel version string. Compare it against the April 2018 timeframe - versions prior to the April 2018 security patch level are potentially vulnerable.Affected if The kernel version predates the April 2018 security patch and the device uses a Qualcomm MSM chipset.
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Verify the APR subsystem is presentCheck for the presence of the APR (Audio Processor Routing) kernel module or driver. This may appear in /proc/kallsyms, as a loaded module via 'lsmod', or the driver may be compiled into the kernel (check kernel config or /proc/config.gz if available).Affected if The APR subsystem is present and the kernel is unpatched - the vulnerability resides in the apr_cb_func callback within this subsystem.
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Confirm Android security patch levelOn Android, check the build fingerprint or security patch date via 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' or in Settings > About Phone > Android security patch level.Affected if The security patch level is earlier than April 2018, indicating the fix has not been applied.
A device is affected if it uses a Qualcomm MSM chipset, runs a kernel version predating the April 2018 security patch, and contains the vulnerable APR subsystem code.
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 April 2018 Android security patch or update to a kernel version that includes the fix for this vulnerability. For end-of-life devices, consider network segmentation and minimizing privileged application access.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-3563 — 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-2018-3563 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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