dbcve.org
Msm8905 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2019-10549

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-03-05
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
Null pointer dereference issue can happen due to improper validation of CSEQ header response received from network in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Wearables in MSM8905, MSM8909, MSM8917, MSM8920, MSM8937, MSM8940, MSM8953, Nicobar, QCM2150, QM215, Rennell, SC8180X, SDM429, SDM429W, SDM439, SDM450, SDM632, SDX24, SDX55, SM6150, SM7150, SM8150

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 null pointer dereference vulnerability exists in the modem/baseband firmware of Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets due to improper validation of the CSEQ header in SIP/IMS responses from the network. An attacker sending a specially crafted network response could crash the baseband processor, causing denial of service (loss of cellular connectivity).

MitigationApply the Qualcomm firmware update (patched baseband/modem image) to affected devices. Users should accept OTA updates from their device manufacturers once available.

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
Msm8905 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Msm8909 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Msm8917 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Msm8920 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Msm8937 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Msm8940 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Msm8953 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Nicobar 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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 device chipset model
    Query the baseband processor using the AT command 'AT+CGMM' or check /proc/cpuinfo for hardware identifiers. Alternatively, use 'getprop ro.hardware' on Android devices.
    Affected if The chipset model matches any of the following: Msm8905, Msm8909, Msm8917, Msm8920, Msm8937, Msm8940, Msm8953, or Nicobar.
  2. Check baseband firmware version
    Query the modem firmware version using the AT command 'AT+CGMR' or 'AT+CGMM'. On Android, you may also check 'getprop gsm.version.baseband'.
    Affected if The firmware version is not yet patched by the vendor. The affected list specifies 'all versions' for the listed chipsets, meaning any unpatched firmware version on these chipsets is vulnerable.
  3. Verify if device receives cellular service
    Observe if the device maintains cellular connectivity. The vulnerability triggers when processing specially crafted SIP/IMS responses containing a malformed CSEQ header.
    Affected if The device experiences unexplained loss of cellular connectivity, baseband crashes, or frequent modem restarts, especially after receiving network responses.
  4. Confirm IMS/SIP functionality is enabled
    Check if the device uses IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) for voice calls or messaging, which involves SIP protocol processing. This is typically enabled by default on modern LTE devices.
    Affected if The device has IMS or VoLTE (Voice over LTE) enabled, as the vulnerability is triggered during SIP/IMS response processing.

A device is affected if it uses any of the listed Qualcomm chipsets (Msm8905, Msm8909, Msm8917, Msm8920, Msm8937, Msm8940, Msm8953, or Nicobar) with baseband firmware that has not been patched to address the CSEQ header validation flaw in SIP/IMS processing.

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 Qualcomm firmware update (patched baseband/modem image) to affected devices. Users should accept OTA updates from their device manufacturers once available.

Fix this in Msm8905 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation24.0 h
  • Testing16.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
56.0 hours of engineering $9,760
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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-2019-10549 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