dbcve.org
Msm8996au FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2018-5912

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-11-28
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Potential buffer overflow in Video due to lack of input validation in input and output values in Snapdragon Automobile, Snapdragon Mobile in MSM8996AU, SD 450, SD 625, SD 820, SD 820A, SD 835, SD 845, SD 850, SDA660

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 buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the Video component of Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets (MSM8996AU, SD 450, SD 625, SD 820, SD 820A, SD 835, SD 845, SD 850, SDA660) due to insufficient input validation on input and output values, potentially allowing arbitrary code execution with elevated privileges.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied firmware patch for the Video component; downstream device manufacturers must obtain and integrate the updated Qualcomm firmware through their respective update channels.

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
Msm8996au FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 450 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 625 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 820 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 820a FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 835 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 845 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sd 850 FirmwareOperating 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
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 checks

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

  1. Identify the Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset model
    Check the device or system specifications for the chipset identifier. On Android devices, this can be found in Settings > About Phone > Chipset or by running 'getprop ro.board.platform' or 'cat /proc/cpuinfo' in a terminal. Look for the exact model: MSM8996AU, SD 450, SD 625, SD 820, SD 820A, SD 835, SD 845, or SD 850.
    Affected if The chipset matches one of the listed models (MSM8996AU, SD 450, SD 625, SD 820, SD 820A, SD 835, SD 845, or SD 850)
  2. Check the Video component firmware version
    On affected devices, the video firmware version is typically bundled within the baseband or system firmware. For Android devices, check /vendor/firmware/ or /firmware/image/ directories for video-related firmware files (often named with 'video' or 'venus' in the filename). Use 'ls -la /vendor/firmware/ | grep -i video' or check the baseband version via 'getprop | grep baseband'.
    Affected if The firmware version cannot be determined or is present on an affected chipset - since all versions of these chipsets are affected, any firmware presence indicates potential exposure
  3. Determine if Video processing is enabled
    Check if the video subsystem is active on the device. On Android, verify video hardware acceleration is available by checking 'dumpsys media.camera' or 'dumpsys media.player' for active video sessions. Also check if any video-related services are running via 'ps -A | grep -i video' or 'dumpsys | grep -i video'.
    Affected if Video functionality is active or available on the device - the vulnerability exists in the Video component itself when utilized

A user is affected if their device uses any of the listed Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset models (MSM8996AU, SD 450, SD 625, SD 820, SD 820A, SD 835, SD 845, or SD 850) and the Video component is functional, since all firmware versions of these chipsets are vulnerable.

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 vendor-supplied firmware patch for the Video component; downstream device manufacturers must obtain and integrate the updated Qualcomm firmware through their respective update channels.

Fix this in Msm8996au Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,880
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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-2018-5912 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
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