AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2019-9297

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-09-27
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
95/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges

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
In libAACdec, there is a possible out of bounds write due to an integer overflow. This could lead to remote code execution with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is needed for exploitation. Product: AndroidVersions: Android-10Android ID: A-112890242

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

In libAACdec (Android's AAC audio decoder), an integer overflow vulnerability exists that can lead to an out-of-bounds write. An attacker could exploit this by crafting a malicious AAC audio file that, when processed by the decoder, triggers the integer overflow to write beyond allocated buffer boundaries, achieving remote code execution. User interaction is required (e.g., playing a malicious audio file).

MitigationApply the vendor patch for Android-10 (A-112890242) via system update. Until patched, avoid processing untrusted or unknown AAC audio files from untrusted sources.

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
AndroidOperating system
Affected:= 10.0

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
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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify Android version
    Check the device Android version in Settings > About Phone > Android version. Use command: `getprop ro.build.version.release`
    Affected if The version is exactly 10.0 (Android 10) - this is the only affected version per vendor advisory
  2. Confirm AAC decoding capability
    Check if the device can process AAC audio files. Look for libAACdec or aac decoder libraries in /system/lib/ or verify MediaCodec support for audio/aac MIME type
    Affected if The libAACdec library is present and AAC audio decoding is enabled on the device
  3. Identify untrusted AAC processing risk
    Audit installed applications that handle AAC audio files (media players, messaging apps, browsers). Review app permissions for audio/media access
    Affected if Applications that process AAC audio from untrusted sources (e.g., downloaded files, message attachments) are installed and active
  4. Check for available security patches
    Review Settings > Security patch level or run `getprop ro.build.version.security_patch` to identify installed patch level
    Affected if Security patch level is earlier than the vendor fix (A-112890242) for Android 10

A user is affected if running Android 10.0 with an unpatched system and processing a malicious crafted AAC audio file through the vulnerable libAACdec decoder.

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 vendor patch for Android-10 (A-112890242) via system update. Until patched, avoid processing untrusted or unknown AAC audio files from untrusted sources.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
32.0 hours of engineering $5,600
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2019-9297 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