CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2015-9138 — Qualcomm Mdm9206 Firmware security vulnerability

Critical CVSS 9.8

In Android before 2018-04-05 or earlier security patch level on Qualcomm Snapdragon Automobile, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Wear, and Small Cell SoC FSM9055, IPQ4019, MDM9206, MDM9607, MDM9625, MDM9635M, MDM9640, MDM9645, MDM9650, MDM9655, MSM8909W, SD 210/SD 212/SD 205, SD 400, SD 410/12, SD 425, SD 430, SD 450, SD 600, SD 615/16/SD 415, SD 617, SD 625, SD 650/52, SD 800, SD 808, SD 810, SD 820, SD 820A, SD 835, SD 845, SD 850, and SDX20, when an RSA encryption operation is called, the ce_util_to_unsigned_bin is invoked to convert the input buffer to unsigned binary. The ce_util_to_unsigned_bin function, instead of operating on the size of the unsigned character buffer that is passed, operates on the address - i.e. operates on "c" instead of "*c". Decrementing the address to check if it is less than zero means that the operation will always pass, since a pointer will never be less than zero, and may result in a buffer overflow.

Severity
Critical
CVSS
9.8 (3.0)
Published
2018-04-18
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
operating-system
Weaknesses
CWE-119

Affected products

  • qualcomm / mdm9206_firmware
  • qualcomm / mdm9607_firmware
  • qualcomm / fsm9055_firmware
  • qualcomm / mdm9625_firmware
  • qualcomm / mdm9635m_firmware
  • qualcomm / mdm9640_firmware

Showing 6 representative product identities from 37 source matches. Confirm exact affected versions with the linked vendor and NVD evidence.

Matched remediation archetype

Buffer bounds, memory safety, and memory corruption

This catalog composition supplies bounded fallback guidance. Explicitly reviewed curated workflows load with the complete record below.

Check exposure

  • Identify affected native-code versions, build flags, architectures, parsers, codecs, drivers, and input paths in all shipped artifacts.
  • Determine whether untrusted data reaches the affected routine and the process privilege, sandbox, and network exposure.
  • Confirm statically linked, vendored, firmware, and platform-provided copies, not only package-manager records.

Remediate safely

  • Apply the maintained upstream correction or replace the affected component, then rebuild every dependent artifact from clean inputs.
  • Adopt bounds-checked interfaces, validated sizes and integer conversions, clear ownership, and memory-safe components where practical.
  • Enable supported compiler and runtime hardening and add sanitized tests and fuzz regression seeds derived from non-weaponized fixtures.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

The detailed catalog view below loads this exact record, its source evidence, and the full seven-phase agentic change plan.