CVE-2018-9444
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 · uneditedIn ih264d_video_decode of ih264d_api.c there is a possible resource exhaustion due to an infinite loop. This could lead to remote temporary device denial of service (remote hang or reboot) with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is needed for exploitation. Product: Android Versions: Android-6.0 Android-6.0.1 Android-7.0 Android-7.1.1 Android-7.1.2 Android ID: A-63521984.
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 confidenceIn the H.264 video decoder (ih264d) in Android's media framework, an infinite loop in the ih264d_video_decode function of ih264d_api.c can cause resource exhaustion. When processing specially crafted video input, the decoder enters an unbounded loop that consumes CPU and memory resources, causing the device to hang or reboot. User interaction is required, likely involving the victim opening a malicious video file.
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= 6.0= 6.0.1= 7.0= 7.1.1= 7.1.2CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/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.
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Check Android versionGo to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shellAffected if Version is 6.0, 6.0.1, 7.0, 7.1.1, or 7.1.2
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Identify H.264 decoder componentThe vulnerable component is ih264d (H.264 decoder) in the Android media framework located in ih264d_api.c. This is a system library component.Affected if The ih264d decoder module is present on the device (standard in Android media framework for these versions)
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Assess exposure to malicious video filesDetermine if the device can process H.264 video files from external or untrusted sources through any app using Android's media framework (video players, browsers, messaging apps, etc.)Affected if Any application on the device can invoke the media framework to decode H.264 video content, making the infinite loop triggerable when a specially crafted file is opened
If the Android version matches 6.0, 6.0.1, 7.0, 7.1.1, or 7.1.2 and the device can process H.264 video files, the environment is affected by this infinite loop vulnerability in the ih264d decoder.
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 the vendor patch for Android security bulletin (likely A-63521984) which corrects the infinite loop condition in the H.264 decoder. Until patched, exercise caution when opening video files from untrusted sources.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing10.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-9444 — 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-2018-9444 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
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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