CVE-2018-9571
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 impd_parse_loud_eq_instructions of impd_drc_dynamic_payload.c there is a possible out-of-bound write due to missing bounds check. This could lead to remote code execution with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is needed for exploitation. Product: Android. Versions: Android-9. Android ID: A-116020594.
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 confidenceA missing bounds check in the impd_parse_loud_eq_instructions function within impd_drc_dynamic_payload.c allows an out-of-bounds write during parsing of loudness EQ instructions in the DRC (Dynamic Range Control) dynamic payload. This memory corruption vulnerability in Android's media framework can be exploited to achieve remote code execution via a specially crafted media file, requiring user interaction to trigger the parsing.
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= 9.0CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check Android versionRun 'getprop ro.build.version.release' in a shell or check Settings > About Phone > Android versionAffected if The version returned is exactly 9.0 (Android Pie)
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Verify media framework presenceConfirm the device has Android media framework by checking for the presence of libimsvt.so or libdrc.so libraries in /system/lib/Affected if The media libraries containing the vulnerable impd_drc_dynamic_payload.c component are present on the device
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Confirm media processing is enabledCheck that the device can process DRC (Dynamic Range Control) audio metadata - typically enabled by default for audio playback functionalityAffected if Media playback with DRC support is enabled, which is the default state on Android devices
A device is affected if it is running Android 9.0 and has the media framework with DRC parsing capability enabled, which is the default configuration.
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 CVE-2018-9571 (Android Security Bulletin) which adds proper bounds validation in the impd_parse_loud_eq_instructions function. Until the patch is available, advise users to avoid opening untrusted media files.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-9571 — 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-2018-9571 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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- 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
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