dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2018-9406

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-01-18
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
57/100
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 NlpService, there is a possible way to obtain location information due to a missing permission check. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional 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

In Android's NlpService (Natural Language Processing Service), a missing permission check allows any local application to obtain location information without proper authorization. The service fails to verify that the calling application has the required location permissions before returning location data, enabling a local privilege escalation where an app can access location data it shouldn't have access to.

MitigationApply the missing permission check in NlpService to verify callers have appropriate location permissions (ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION or ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION) before returning location data. This is a framework-level code fix requiring modification of the permission validation logic in the NlpService component.

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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 version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shell
    Affected if Any version - all Android versions are affected by this vulnerability
  2. Identify apps with Location permission
    Go to Settings > Apps > Permissions > Location, or run 'dumpsys package' to list all apps holding ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION or ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION
    Affected if Any app without proper location authorization has access to location data through NlpService
  3. Verify NLP service accessibility
    Run 'dumpsys activity service NlpService' or check if any app can query android.location.LocationListener without holding location permissions
    Affected if Third-party apps can retrieve location data without holding ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION or ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION permissions
  4. Audit installed NLP-related apps
    Review installed apps for any that claim NLP/language input functionality but request unusual permissions, or run 'pm list packages -3' to list third-party apps
    Affected if A malicious app has been installed that could exploit this vulnerability to obtain unauthorized location access

If any third-party app can access location data without holding explicit ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION or ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION permissions, the device is vulnerable to CVE-2018-9406.

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 missing permission check in NlpService to verify callers have appropriate location permissions (ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION or ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION) before returning location data. This is a framework-level code fix requiring modification of the permission validation logic in the NlpService component.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Android devices with October 2018 security patch level or later (Android 9 Pie includes the fix and patches were backported to earlier Android versions)

  1. Check the current Android security patch level by going to Settings > About Phone > Software Information
  2. Ensure your device has received the October 2018 Android Security Patch Level or later
  3. Go to Settings > System > Software Update (or Settings > About Phone > System Update) to check for and install available updates
  4. If no update is available, contact your device manufacturer or carrier to request the security update containing the fix for CVE-2018-9406
  5. For enterprise or managed devices, use mobile device management (MDM) to push the latest Android security updates
Caveat Risk is minimal for security updates; some older devices may no longer receive updates from manufacturers

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,560
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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-2018-9406 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data