# CVE-2017-8850: Security feature bypass in n/a

> Attackers can bypass bootloader locks to install mismatched OS images via insecure OTA updates, enabling exploitation of patched vulnerabilities.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.9 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 11 May 2017
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-84h2-3vmh-4gmw

## What is CVE-2017-8850?

CVE-2017-8850 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 11 May 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An issue was discovered on OnePlus One, X, 2, 3, and 3T devices. Due to a lenient updater-script in the OnePlus OTA images, and the fact that both ROMs use the same OTA verification keys, attackers can install HydrogenOS over OxygenOS and vice versa, even on locked bootloaders, which allows for exploitation of vulnerabilities patched on one image but not on the other, in addition to expansion of the attack surface. This vulnerability can be exploited by Man-in-the-Middle (MiTM) attackers targeting the update process. This is possible because the update transaction does not occur over TLS (CVE-2016-10370). In addition, physical attackers can reboot the phone into recovery, and then use 'adb sideload' to push the OTA (on OnePlus 3/3T 'Secure Start-up' must be off).

Weakness: CWE-319 (Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-8850?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Oneplus Oxygenos.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-8850?

No fix has been published for CVE-2017-8850 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2017-8850 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-8850 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2017-5624](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-5624/): Security feature bypass in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-5626](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-5626/): Security feature bypass in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-5554](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-5554/): Security feature bypass in n/a (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2016-10370](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-10370/): Security feature bypass in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2017-5947](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-5947/): Security feature bypass in n/a (medium 6.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-8850 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-8850 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 11 May 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-8850 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-8850/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-8850/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-8850
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-8850
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-8850

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-8850/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.