dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2018-9464

HIGH · 7.8 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 →
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
In multiple locations, there is a possible way to read protected files 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 · moderate confidence

This Android vulnerability involves missing permission checks in multiple locations that allow unprivileged local applications to read protected files, leading to local privilege escalation without requiring additional execution privileges or user interaction.

MitigationApply the Android security patch for CVE-2018-9464, which adds proper permission checks to the affected locations in the Android framework/system components.

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
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/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. Check Android security patch level
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Software Information > Security Patch Level and note the date. For CVE-2018-9464, the fix was included in the May 2018 Android Security Patch Level.
    Affected if The Security Patch Level is earlier than May 2018, or the field shows unknown or no patch date.
  2. Confirm Android version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version. Note the full version number displayed.
    Affected if The Android version is any release before the May 2018 security update was applied.
  3. Verify patch integration in framework
    This vulnerability involves missing permission checks in Android framework components (android.permission checks). Without access to source code or a device audit tool, the presence of the fix cannot be directly verified through config files. The primary detection method is confirming the Security Patch Level.
    Affected if Unable to verify that the framework components include the added permission checks from the May 2018 patch.
  4. Check for local app access to protected files
    The vulnerability allows unprivileged apps to read protected files. On a rooted device, audit whether apps without special privileges can access files in /data/system, /data/user, or other protected directories that should require elevated permissions.
    Affected if Unprivileged applications can read protected system files that should require additional permissions.

The device is affected if the Android Security Patch Level is earlier than May 2018, since all prior versions lack the permission checks that prevent unprivileged apps from reading protected files.

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 Android security patch for CVE-2018-9464, which adds proper permission checks to the affected locations in the Android framework/system components.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Android devices should receive the August 2018 security patch level (2018-08-01 or later)

  1. Check the Android Security Bulletin for the month this CVE was fixed (CVE-2018-9464 was addressed in the August 2018 Android Security Bulletin)
  2. Apply the latest Android security update for your device
  3. Verify the security patch level on the device shows a date on or after August 2018
  4. For developers: Review the AOSP fix commits for missing permission checks in FileProvider and related components

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
44.0 hours of engineering $7,720
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2018-9464 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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