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Apq8009 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2019-10483

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-04-16
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click

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
Side channel issue in QTEE due to usage of non-time-constant comparison function such as memcmp or strcmp in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer Electronics Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon IoT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Voice & Music, Snapdragon Wearables, Snapdragon Wired Infrastructure and Networking in APQ8009, APQ8016, APQ8017, APQ8053, APQ8076, APQ8096, APQ8096AU, APQ8098, IPQ8074, MDM9150, MDM9205, MDM9206, MDM9207C, MDM9607, MDM9640, MDM9650, MDM9655, MSM8905, MSM8909, MSM8909W, MSM8917, MSM8920, MSM8937, MSM8940, MSM8953, MSM8996, MSM8996AU, MSM8998, QCA8081, QCS404, QCS605, QM215, SDA660, SDA845, SDM429, SDM439, SDM450, SDM630, SDM632, SDM636, SDM660, SDM670, SDM710, SDM845, SDM850, SDX20, SDX55, SM6150, SM7150, SM8150, SXR1130, SXR2130

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

Timing side-channel vulnerability in Qualcomm's QTEE (Trusted Execution Environment) where non-time-constant comparison functions (memcmp/strcmp) are used. An attacker with precise timing measurements could potentially infer sensitive information (keys, credentials) by observing execution time differences during comparison operations.

MitigationApply vendor firmware/security patch from Qualcomm to affected chipsets. Device manufacturers must integrate and distribute the patch through OTA updates. For devices no longer supported, consider network-level mitigations or device replacement.

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
Apq8009 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8016 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8017 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8053 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8076 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8096 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8096au FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8098 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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. Identify the Qualcomm chipset model in your device
    Check device specifications, system information, or /proc/cpuinfo to identify the APQ chipset (Apq8009, Apq8016, Apq8017, Apq8053, Apq8076, Apq8096, Apq8096au, or Apq8098)
    Affected if The device contains any of the listed affected chipset models (Apq8009, Apq8016, Apq8017, Apq8053, Apq8076, Apq8096, Apq8096au, or Apq8098)
  2. Determine the firmware version of the Qualcomm chipset
    Query the device's firmware version through manufacturer tools, bootloader information, or system firmware logs (often accessible via getprop on Android or manufacturer diagnostic software)
    Affected if The installed firmware version predates the CVE-2019-10483 patch (released October 2019) or the firmware version cannot be determined
  3. Check if QTEE (Trusted Execution Environment) is enabled on the device
    Inspect TEE status through device diagnostic interfaces, security settings, or by checking /dev/tz or similar TEE driver entries that indicate QTEE is active
    Affected if QTEE is active and running on the affected chipset without the timing-side-channel patch applied
  4. Verify security patch level on the device
    Check the device security patch level through system settings (Android: Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level) or by querying the build fingerprint or ro.build.version.security_patch property
    Affected if The security patch level is earlier than October 2019 or cannot be verified, indicating the CVE fix has not been applied

A user is affected if their device uses any of the listed Qualcomm APQ chipsets (Apq8009, Apq8016, Apq8017, Apq8053, Apq8076, Apq8096, Apq8096au, or Apq8098) and the firmware has not been updated with the October 2019 or later security patch that addresses the timing side-channel in QTEE.

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 vendor firmware/security patch from Qualcomm to affected chipsets. Device manufacturers must integrate and distribute the patch through OTA updates. For devices no longer supported, consider network-level mitigations or device replacement.

Fix this in Apq8009 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
30.0 hours of engineering $5,280
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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-2019-10483 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