CVE-2018-11949
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in Qualcomm Snapdragon WLAN functions allows attackers to access memory outside allocated buffers due to improper initialization. Affected devices include numerous Snapdragon-based automotive, mobile, compute, and IoT platforms. Successful exploitation could lead to remote code execution or system compromise.
💻 Affected Systems
- Snapdragon Auto
- Snapdragon Compute
- Snapdragon Consumer IOT
- Snapdragon Industrial IOT
- Snapdragon Mobile
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Remote code execution with kernel privileges leading to complete device compromise, data theft, and persistent backdoor installation.
Likely Case
Device crash/DoS or limited information disclosure through memory corruption, potentially enabling further exploitation.
If Mitigated
Minimal impact if devices are patched, network-segmented, and have exploit mitigations enabled.
🎯 Exploit Status
CWE-665 indicates improper initialization vulnerability; exploitation likely requires crafting malicious WLAN packets but no public exploit details available.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Refer to April 2019 Code Aurora Security Bulletin patches
Vendor Advisory: https://www.codeaurora.org/security-bulletin/2019/04/01/april-2019-code-aurora-security-bulletin
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Contact device manufacturer for firmware updates. 2. Apply Qualcomm-provided patches to WLAN firmware/driver. 3. Reboot device after update. 4. Verify patch installation.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable WLAN if not needed
android/linuxTemporarily disable wireless functionality to prevent exploitation via this vector.
adb shell svc wifi disable
iwconfig wlan0 down
Network segmentation
allIsolate affected devices on separate VLANs with strict firewall rules.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict network access controls to limit WLAN exposure
- Deploy intrusion detection monitoring for abnormal WLAN traffic patterns
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check chipset model via 'cat /proc/cpuinfo' or device specifications; match against affected list.Check Version:
adb shell getprop ro.bootloader or manufacturer-specific firmware check commandsVerify Fix Applied:
Check firmware version with manufacturer tools; verify patch date is post-April 2019.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Kernel panic logs
- WLAN driver crash messages
- Memory corruption warnings in dmesg
Network Indicators:
- Abnormal WLAN packet patterns
- Unexpected broadcast/multicast traffic to WLAN interfaces
SIEM Query:
source="kernel" AND ("WLAN" OR "wifi") AND ("panic" OR "crash" OR "corruption")