CVE-2019-9273
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 the Android kernel in the synaptics_dsx_htc touchscreen driver there is a possible use after free due to improper locking. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with System execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.
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 use-after-free vulnerability exists in the synaptics_dsx_htc touchscreen driver within the Android kernel. The vulnerability is caused by improper locking synchronization, allowing an attacker with System-level privileges to potentially reuse freed memory and escalate privileges to root. No user interaction is required for exploitation.
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 dataall versionsCVSS 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
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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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Identify if synaptics_dsx_htc driver is presentCheck /sys/module/ or lsmod output for the synaptics_dsx_htc module. On Android, run 'ls /sys/module/' or 'cat /proc/modules' as root and search for 'synaptics_dsx_htc'Affected if The module is loaded and present on the device (this driver is specific to certain HTC devices with Synaptics touch controllers)
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Verify driver source code contains proper lockingIf you have access to the kernel source or can extract the driver, inspect the synaptics_dsx_htc driver source for the locking fix. Look for proper mutex_lock/unlock pairs around shared data structures, specifically around the functions that handle touchscreen configurationAffected if The driver code lacks proper mutex synchronization around shared data access, indicating the vulnerability is present
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Check kernel version against patch dateRun 'uname -a' or check /proc/version to get the kernel version. Compare against the date when the fix was merged (late 2019 for this CVE)Affected if The kernel version predates the CVE-2019-9273 patch and the device has not received a kernel/firmware update since late 2019
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Confirm device is HTC with Synaptics touchscreenCheck device model (run 'getprop ro.product.model' or 'getprop ro.build.model') and verify it is an HTC device known to use the synaptics_dsx_htc driverAffected if The device is an HTC model that utilizes the synaptics_dsx_htc touchscreen driver and has not been patched
A user is affected if their Android device is an HTC model with the synaptics_dsx_htc touchscreen driver loaded, running a kernel version predating the late-2019 patch that lacks proper locking synchronization.
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-provided kernel patch for CVE-2019-9273 which corrects the improper locking in the synaptics_dsx_htc driver. Since this is a kernel-level fix, it requires a system firmware/kernel update from the device OEM.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 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 $3,808.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-9273 — 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-2019-9273 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
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