CVE-2018-5821
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, in function wma_wow_wakeup_host_event(), wake_info->vdev_id is received from FW and is used directly as array index to access wma->interfaces whose max index should be (max_bssid-1). If wake_info->vdev_id is greater than or equal to max_bssid, an out-of-bounds read occurs.
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 confidenceOut-of-bounds read vulnerability in the wma_wow_wakeup_host_event() function in Qualcomm wireless drivers. The vdev_id value received from firmware is used directly as an array index to access wma->interfaces without validation, allowing an out-of-bounds read when vdev_id >= max_bssid.
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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- Low
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
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 or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADB shellAffected if The security patch level is earlier than April 2018 (should show 2018-04-01 or later)
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Identify the wireless chipset vendorRun 'getprop ro.board.platform' and 'getprop ro.hardware' via ADB shell to check for Qualcomm components (qcom, msm, etc.)Affected if The device uses a Qualcomm chipset (qcom/msm platform)
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Verify the wma driver is presentRun 'ls /vendor/lib/modules/wlan.ko' or check for wma-related modules in /vendor/lib/modules/ via ADB shellAffected if The wma (wireless management architecture) driver module exists on the device
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Check the wlan driver versionRun 'modinfo wlan' or check /sys/module/wlan/version if the module is loaded via ADB shellAffected if The wlan driver version cannot be verified or shows a version predating the April 2018 fix
The device is affected if it runs Android with a security patch level before April 2018 and uses a Qualcomm wireless chipset with the vulnerable wma driver present.
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 level or later to affected devices, which includes the bounds-checking fix for this vulnerability in the Qualcomm wma driver.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,328.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-5821 — 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-2018-5821 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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