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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2018-9398

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-12-05
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
69/100
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
In fm_set_stat of mediatek FM radio driver, there is a possible OOB write due to improper input validation. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with System execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.

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

A heap-based out-of-bounds write vulnerability exists in the fm_set_stat function of MediaTek's FM radio driver due to improper input validation. The vulnerability allows a local attacker with System-level privileges to escalate to root privileges by triggering the OOB write through specially crafted input to the FM driver interface.

MitigationApply the relevant Android Security Patch level that includes the MediaTek driver update containing proper bounds checking and input validation in the fm_set_stat function. Users should ensure their devices receive timely kernel/driver updates from their device OEMs.

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
Low
Privileges
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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 MediaTek hardware presence
    Check device information via 'Settings > About Phone > Model' or run 'getprop ro.product.model' and 'getprop ro.mediatek.platform' in adb shell to determine if the device uses a MediaTek chipset
    Affected if Device does not use MediaTek hardware - the FM driver vulnerability only affects MediaTek chipsets
  2. Verify FM radio driver is loaded
    Run 'ls -la /dev/radio*' or check kernel modules with 'lsmod | grep fm' in adb shell to see if the MediaTek FM driver interface exists
    Affected if No FM driver interface present - the vulnerability requires the FM driver to be accessible
  3. Check kernel version
    Run 'uname -r' or 'cat /proc/version' in adb shell to obtain the running kernel version
    Affected if Kernel version predates the fix and matches older MediaTek kernel trees without the bounds checking patch
  4. Check Android Security Patch Level
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' in adb shell to retrieve the installed security patch level
    Affected if Security patch level is earlier than the June 2018 Android security update which contained the fix for this vulnerability

A user is affected if their Android device uses a MediaTek chipset with the FM radio driver present and has a kernel/security patch level older than the June 2018 Android 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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the relevant Android Security Patch level that includes the MediaTek driver update containing proper bounds checking and input validation in the fm_set_stat function. Users should ensure their devices receive timely kernel/driver updates from their device OEMs.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android Security Patch Level July 2018 or later (specific to device manufacturer)

  1. Check your Android device's security patch level in Settings > About Phone > Software Info
  2. Contact your device manufacturer or carrier to request the July 2018 Android Security Bulletin patch or later
  3. Apply the system update containing the MediaTek component security fix
  4. Verify the patch was applied by confirming the security patch level is July 2018 or later
Caveat Security patches from manufacturers may vary in timing and availability; some older devices may not receive this update

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
30.0 hours of engineering $5,280
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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-2018-9398 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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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