dbcve.org
Apq8009 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2019-10527

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-09-08
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
u'SMEM partition can be manipulated in case of any compromise on HLOS, thus resulting in access to memory outside of SMEM address range which could lead to memory corruption' in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer Electronics Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Voice & Music, Snapdragon Wearables, Snapdragon Wired Infrastructure and Networking in APQ8009, APQ8017, APQ8053, APQ8096AU, APQ8098, Bitra, IPQ6018, IPQ8074, Kamorta, MDM9150, MDM9205, MDM9206, MDM9207C, MDM9607, MDM9640, MDM9650, MSM8905, MSM8909, MSM8909W, MSM8917, MSM8920, MSM8937, MSM8940, MSM8953, MSM8996, MSM8996AU, MSM8998, Nicobar, QCA4531, QCA6574AU, QCA8081, QCM2150, QCN7605, QCN7606, QCS404, QCS405, QCS605, QCS610, QM215, Rennell, SA415M, SA515M, SA6155P, Saipan, SC7180, SC8180X, SDA660, SDA845, SDM429, SDM429W, SDM439, SDM450, SDM630, SDM632, SDM636, SDM660, SDM670, SDM710, SDM845, SDM850, SDX20, SDX24, SDX55, SM6150, SM7150, SM8150, SM8250, SXR1130, SXR2130

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 confidence

A vulnerability in Qualcomm Snapdragon chips allows a compromised High-Level Operating System (HLOS) to manipulate SMEM (Shared Memory) partition boundaries, enabling access to memory outside the intended SMEM address range. This could result in memory corruption and potential privilege escalation.

MitigationThis is a firmware-level vulnerability requiring patches from Qualcomm and subsequent device firmware updates from device manufacturers. Organizations should inventory affected devices, monitor for available firmware updates from vendors, and prioritize patching given the CVSS 7.8 severity.

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
Apq8009 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8017 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8053 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8096au FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8098 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Bitra FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Ipq6018 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Ipq8074 FirmwareOperating 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. Identify the Qualcomm chipset model
    Check the device hardware specifications, bootloader output, or system information to determine the exact Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset variant (e.g., Apq8009, Apq8017, Ipq8074)
    Affected if The chipset matches one of: Apq8009, Apq8017, Apq8053, Apq8096au, Apq8098, Bitra, Ipq6018, or Ipq8074
  2. Verify the firmware version
    Query the device firmware version through the bootloader, recovery console, or system firmware information (e.g., cat /proc/version, dmesg, or vendor-specific tools)
    Affected if The device runs any firmware version on the affected chipsets since all versions are vulnerable
  3. Confirm SMEM partitioning is in use
    Check if the device utilizes SMEM (Shared Memory) partitions by examining memory configuration files, kernel boot parameters, or system memory maps
    Affected if The device uses SMEM partitioning and runs on an affected chipset, enabling the attack surface
  4. Assess HLOS integrity
    Review system integrity measurements, audit logs for unauthorized root/privileged access, and check for signs of HLOS compromise (unexpected processes, unusual network connections, modified system files)
    Affected if The HLOS has been compromised or could be compromised, which is a prerequisite for exploiting this vulnerability to manipulate SMEM boundaries

A device is affected if it contains any of the listed Qualcomm chipset models (Apq8009, Apq8017, Apq8053, Apq8096au, Apq8098, Bitra, Ipq6018, Ipq8074) and utilizes SMEM partitioning, regardless of firmware version.

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

This is a firmware-level vulnerability requiring patches from Qualcomm and subsequent device firmware updates from device manufacturers. Organizations should inventory affected devices, monitor for available firmware updates from vendors, and prioritize patching given the CVSS 7.8 severity.

Fix this in Apq8009 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,560
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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-2019-10527 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