AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2018-3598

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-04-03
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
In 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, insufficient validation of parameters from userspace in the camera driver can lead to information leak and out-of-bounds access.

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

This vulnerability exists in the Qualcomm camera driver for Android (MSM, Firefox OS for MSM, QRD Android). Insufficient validation of parameters passed from userspace allows an attacker to trigger an information leak and out-of-bounds memory access. The flaw exists in kernel-level code before the April 2018 security patch level.

MitigationApply the April 2018 Android security patch level (or later) which contains the fix for this camera driver vulnerability. Organizations should identify affected devices and ensure firmware updates from device manufacturers are deployed.

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
AndroidOperating 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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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. Check Android security patch level
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Build Number or use 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADB shell to retrieve the security patch date
    Affected if The patch level is earlier than April 2018 or the security patch level field is empty or not set
  2. Verify device uses Qualcomm MSM chipset
    Check the device specifications on manufacturer website or use 'getprop ro.hardware' or 'getprop ro.board.platform' via ADB shell to identify the chipset platform
    Affected if The device uses a Qualcomm MSM (Mobile Station Modem) chipset and the security patch level is before April 2018
  3. Confirm camera driver is active
    Check if the camera functionality is accessible on the device - attempt to open camera app or use 'ls /dev/video*' via ADB shell to list video devices
    Affected if The device has an active Qualcomm camera driver (video devices exist) and the security patch level is before April 2018

A device is affected if it runs on Qualcomm MSM hardware, has an active camera driver, and has not received the April 2018 or later Android security patch level.

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 the April 2018 Android security patch level (or later) which contains the fix for this camera driver vulnerability. Organizations should identify affected devices and ensure firmware updates from device manufacturers are deployed.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
21.0 hours of engineering $3,680
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2018-3598 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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