AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2018-9513

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-10-02
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 copy_process of fork.c, there is possible memory corruption due to a double free. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Product: Android Versions: Android kernel Android ID: A-111081202 References: N/A

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

A double-free vulnerability exists in the copy_process function within fork.c in the Android kernel. When the function frees memory and then erroneously frees the same memory location again, memory corruption occurs. This memory corruption can be exploited to achieve local privilege escalation without requiring additional execution privileges or user interaction.

MitigationApply the Android kernel security patch for A-111081202, which addresses the double-free condition in copy_process. Organizations should update Android devices to the latest security patch level.

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:3.0/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 > Security Patch Level, or run `getprop ro.build.version.security_patch` via ADB shell. This displays the date of the last security update.
    Affected if The patch level is earlier than the date when A-111081202 was released (typically the October 2018 Android Security Patch or later indicates the fix is included).
  2. Identify kernel version
    Run `cat /proc/version` in a terminal or ADB shell, or use `uname -a`. This shows the exact kernel version string.
    Affected if The kernel version predates the fixed kernel version that includes the A-111081202 patch. Compare your version to publicly released fixed versions for your device model.
  3. Verify device-specific patch status
    Check your device manufacturer or carrier documentation for the specific Android security bulletin that includes CVE-2018-9513. The Android Security Bulletin for October 2018 lists this vulnerability as fixed.
    Affected if Your device model has not received the October 2018 (or later) Android security update from your carrier or manufacturer.

Your device is likely affected if it has not received the Android Security Patch Level that includes the A-111081202 fix, typically the October 2018 security update or later.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the Android kernel security patch for A-111081202, which addresses the double-free condition in copy_process. Organizations should update Android devices to the latest security patch level.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
40.0 hours of engineering $6,960
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2018-9513 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