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PatchSiren cyber security CVE debrief

CVE-2017-0441 Linux CVE debrief

CVE-2017-0441 is a high-severity elevation-of-privilege vulnerability in the Qualcomm Wi‑Fi driver used by Android. According to the CVE description, a local malicious application could execute arbitrary code in the context of the kernel, but the issue first requires compromising a privileged process. NVD records the issue as affecting Android builds up to 7.1.1 as well as Linux kernel 3.10 and 3.18 CPEs, with a CVSS 3.0 vector of AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

Vendor
Linux
Product
Unknown
CVSS
HIGH 7
CISA KEV
Not listed in stored evidence
Original CVE published
2017-02-08
Original CVE updated
2026-05-13
Advisory published
2017-02-08
Advisory updated
2026-05-13

Who should care

Android OEMs, device maintainers, kernel and firmware integrators, mobile security teams, and anyone supporting devices that include the affected Qualcomm Wi‑Fi driver or the listed Android/kernel versions should prioritize this issue.

Technical summary

NVD maps the vulnerability to CWE-120 and describes it as an elevation-of-privilege flaw in the Qualcomm Wi‑Fi driver. The impact is kernel-context arbitrary code execution from a local malicious app, with the caveat that the attack path first requires a privileged-process compromise. Official references point to the Android security bulletin and a CodeAurora advisory.

Defensive priority

High. The issue can lead to kernel-level compromise, but the attack path is local and requires additional privilege compromise, which narrows exposure compared with remotely reachable bugs.

Recommended defensive actions

  • Verify whether your Android builds or downstream kernels include the affected Qualcomm Wi‑Fi driver code paths.
  • Apply the Android security bulletin and any Qualcomm/CodeAurora fixes referenced for this CVE.
  • Prioritize updates for devices aligned with Android versions up to 7.1.1 and kernel lines 3.10 and 3.18 identified by NVD.
  • Review privileged-process exposure on affected devices, since the CVE description notes that compromising a privileged process is a prerequisite.
  • Confirm patch status across OEM firmware, vendor kernels, and any device-specific backports rather than relying only on upstream kernel version labels.

Evidence notes

This debrief is based on the official NVD record for CVE-2017-0441, which lists the CVSS 3.0 vector, CWE-120 mapping, affected CPEs, and references to the Android security bulletin and CodeAurora advisory. The CVE description supplied in the source corpus states that the flaw is in the Qualcomm Wi‑Fi driver and may allow kernel-context arbitrary code execution after compromising a privileged process.

Sources and references

Verified primary and authoritative sources

  • CVE-2017-0441 CVE Program record

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-0441

    CVE Program - Official CVE Program record with source-provided CVE metadata.

  • CVE-2017-0441 NVD vulnerability detail

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-0441

    NIST National Vulnerability Database - Official NIST NVD detail page and source-specific vulnerability assessment.

Supplemental references

Methodology and review provenance

AI-assisted synthesis based on stored public vulnerability evidence. System validation, approval state, and publication status do not by themselves establish human review of this revision. PatchSiren helps prioritize defensive review and does not prove exposure or remediation on any system.