CVE-2018-5869
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 · uneditedImproper input validation in the QTEE keymaster app can lead to invalid memory access in snapdragon mobile and snapdragon wear in versions MDM9206, MDM9607, MSM8909W, SD 210/SD 212/SD 205, SD 410/12, SD 615/16/SD 415, SD 800, SD 810
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 confidenceImproper input validation in the QTEE (Qualcomm Trusted Execution Environment) keymaster application allows invalid memory access. This is a security-critical component that handles cryptographic key operations within the TEE, and the vulnerability could potentially allow privilege escalation or key extraction.
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 versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/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.
-
Identify device chipset modelCheck the device specifications, /proc/cpuinfo, or use AT commands to query the modem/baseband processor for the Qualcomm chipset identifier (Mdm9206, Mdm9607, Msm8909w, SD 210, SD 212, SD 205, SD 410, or SD 412)Affected if The chipset matches any of the affected models: Mdm9206, Mdm9607, Msm8909w, Sd 210, Sd 212, Sd 205, Sd 410, or Sd 412
-
Verify TEE is presentCheck for TEE device nodes (typically /dev/tee*) or query the security subsystem (on Android check /sys/kernel/debug/tee or use keystore debug features)Affected if The device exposes a TEE (Trusted Execution Environment) interface, indicating the vulnerable keymaster component is present
-
Confirm keymaster is enabledVerify the keymaster Trusted Application (TA) is loaded in the TEE by checking TEE logs, keystore status, or using TEE debugging tools to confirm the keymaster application is operationalAffected if The keymaster application is running within the QTEE, which is the default state for affected devices
If the device uses any of the affected Qualcomm chipsets (Mdm9206, Mdm9607, Msm8909w, Sd 210, Sd 212, Sd 205, Sd 410, Sd 412) and has TEE/keymaster enabled, the environment is affected by this vulnerability since all firmware versions for these chipsets are vulnerable.
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 vendor firmware updates from device manufacturers that include the Qualcomm patch for this vulnerability. If updates are unavailable, consider network segmentation and monitoring to reduce attack surface.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Testing16.0 h
- Review / QA8.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,704.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-5869 — 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-2018-5869 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data