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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2018-9432

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-11-19
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

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 createPhonebookDialogView and createMapDialogView of BluetoothPermissionActivity.java, there is a possible permissions bypass. This could lead to local escalation of privilege due to hiding and bypassing the user's ability to disable access to contacts, with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is 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 BluetoothPermissionActivity, the createPhonebookDialogView and createMapDialogView functions can be bypassed, allowing a malicious app to grant contacts access to Bluetooth-paired devices without showing the user the permission dialog that would normally allow them to deny access. This enables local privilege escalation through improper permission handling.

MitigationApply Android platform security updates (Google's monthly security bulletins). For enterprise environments, implement Mobile Device Management (MDM) policies to control Bluetooth permissions and ensure devices receive timely patches.

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:= 6.0= 6.0.1= 7.0= 7.1.1= 7.1.2= 8.0= 8.1

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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. Verify Android version is affected
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version (or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shell). Compare the installed version against the affected range: Android 6.0, 6.0.1, 7.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, or 8.1.
    Affected if The installed version exactly matches any of: 6.0, 6.0.1, 7.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, or 8.1.
  2. Confirm Bluetooth is enabled
    Check if Bluetooth is turned on in Settings > Bluetooth (or run 'settings get global bluetooth_on' via ADB shell, returns 1 if enabled).
    Affected if Bluetooth is currently enabled on the device.
  3. Inspect Bluetooth contacts access permissions
    Navigate to Settings > Apps > (three dots) > Special access > Bluetooth > Contacts access (or run 'dumpsys bluetooth_manager' via ADB shell to see granted permissions). Look for any apps listed with contacts access granted.
    Affected if Any application has been granted Bluetooth contacts (PBAP) or message (MAP) access without user consent dialog appearing.
  4. Review recently granted Bluetooth permissions
    Check Settings > Security & location > Location services > Apps with usage access > Bluetooth (or run 'pm list permissions -g | grep bluetooth' via ADB shell). Identify any Bluetooth-related permissions granted to apps.
    Affected if Apps have been granted BLUETOOTH_CONNECT, BLUETOOTH, or PBAP permissions unexpectedly, especially if the permission dialog was bypassed.

A device is affected if it runs Android versions 6.0 through 8.1 and has Bluetooth enabled with contacts or message access permissions granted to any app, potentially without the user seeing the permission dialog.

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 Android platform security updates (Google's monthly security bulletins). For enterprise environments, implement Mobile Device Management (MDM) policies to control Bluetooth permissions and ensure devices receive timely patches.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Android 8.0 (Oreo) or later, or apply the relevant Android Security Bulletin patch for CVE-2018-9432

  1. 1. Navigate to Settings > Security & Privacy > Security update on the affected Android device
  2. 2. Check the current Android version and security patch level
  3. 3. If the device is running Android 6.0, 6.0.1, 7.0, or 7.1.1, check if an official security update is available from the device manufacturer
  4. 4. If available, apply the latest Android security patch update that addresses CVE-2018-9432
  5. 5. If no update is available from the manufacturer, consider upgrading to a supported Android version (8.0 or later) that includes the fix
  6. 6. Verify the security patch level has been updated after applying the fix
Caveat Upgrading to a newer Android version may remove support for older applications or change device functionality

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 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-2018-9432 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