CVE-2018-9578
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 ixheaacd_adts_crc_start_reg of ixheaacd_adts_crc_check.c, there is a possible out of bounds write due to a missing bounds check. This could lead to remote escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Product: Android. Versions: Android-9. Android ID: A-113261928.
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 ixheaacd_adts_crc_start_reg function in ixheaacd_adts_crc_check.c leads to an out-of-bounds write vulnerability in the HE-AAC audio decoder library (ixheaacd). This can be exploited remotely without user interaction to achieve privilege escalation on affected Android-9 devices.
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
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check Android versionRun 'getprop ro.build.version.release' or check Settings > About Phone > Android versionAffected if The version shown is exactly 9.0 (Android Pie)
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Verify ixheaacd library presenceCheck for the library file in /system/lib/ or /vendor/lib/ directories - look for files containing 'ixheaacd' (e.g., libixheaacd.so)Affected if The ixheaacd library is present on the device
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Confirm library is used by media frameworkCheck if any audio playback or media processes reference the ixheaacd library, or inspect /system/etc/media_codecs.xml for HE-AAC decoder configurationAffected if HE-AAC audio decoding is enabled and uses the ixheaacd library
If the device runs Android 9.0 and has the ixheaacd library present (which provides HE-AAC audio decoding), the device is vulnerable to CVE-2018-9578.
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.
dbcve · scopedApply the Android security patch level for November 2018 (or later) to address CVE-2018-9578 in the ixheaacd library, as this is a critical severity vulnerability requiring library update rather than configuration changes.
Android 9.0 with December 2018 Security Patch Level or later, or Android 10+
- 1. Apply the Android security patch level that includes the fix for CVE-2018-9578. This vulnerability was addressed in the December 2018 Android Security Patch Level (SPL) or later.
- 2. Verify the device has received the security update by going to Settings > System > Security > Security patch level and confirming the date is December 2018 or later.
- 3. If the device is on Android 9.0 and no update is available from the device manufacturer, consider upgrading to a newer Android version that includes the patched component.
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,040.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-9578 — 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-2018-9578 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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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.
- 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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