dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2018-5853

HIGH · 7.0 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-07-06
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
72/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
A race condition exists in a driver in all Android releases from CAF using the Linux kernel (Android for MSM, Firefox OS for MSM, QRD Android) before security patch level 2018-05-05 potentially leading 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 · moderate confidence

A race condition exists in a kernel driver for Android devices using the Qualcomm MSM (Mobile Station Modem) architecture. The race condition occurs in the driver code before the 2018-05-05 security patch level, potentially allowing an attacker to trigger a use-after-free memory corruption scenario.

MitigationApply the Android security patch level 2018-05-05 or later, which includes the fix for this vulnerability in the CAF (Code Aurora Forum) kernel driver.

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
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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check Android security patch level
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level or run `getprop ro.build.version.security_patch` via ADB shell
    Affected if The patch level is earlier than 2018-05-05
  2. Identify the baseband processor chipset
    Check the device specifications or run `getprop ro.baseband` via ADB shell to identify if the device uses Qualcomm MSM (Mobile Station Modem) architecture
    Affected if The device uses a Qualcomm MSM chipset and the security patch level is before 2018-05-05
  3. Verify kernel driver presence
    Check the kernel version and build date via `uname -a` or `cat /proc/version` in ADB shell. The vulnerability exists in the CAF (Code Aurora Forum) Qualcomm kernel driver code
    Affected if Running a kernel built before May 2018 on a Qualcomm MSM device with pre-2018-05-05 patch level

The device is affected if it uses a Qualcomm MSM chipset and has a security patch level earlier than 2018-05-05, as the fix was included in that monthly security update.

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 Android security patch level 2018-05-05 or later, which includes the fix for this vulnerability in the CAF (Code Aurora Forum) kernel driver.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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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-2018-5853 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