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Apq8009 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2019-10523

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
Target specific data is being sent to remote server and leads to information exposure in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon IoT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Wearables in APQ8009, APQ8053, APQ8096AU, MSM8909W, MSM8917, MSM8920, MSM8937, MSM8940, MSM8953, MSM8996AU, QCA6574AU, QCS605, Rennell, SDA660, SDM429W, SDM439, SDM450, SDM710, SDM845, SM7150, SM8150, SM8250, 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 · moderate confidence

This is an information exposure vulnerability in Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets where target-specific data is being transmitted to a remote server. The vulnerability allows potential leakage of sensitive device or user information due to unspecified data handling in the chipset firmware.

MitigationApply vendor-provided firmware updates from Qualcomm and device manufacturers once available. Implement network monitoring to detect unauthorized data exfiltration to unknown remote servers.

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
Apq8053 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8096au FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Msm8909w FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Msm8917 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Msm8920 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Msm8937 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Msm8940 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
    Check the device specifications or use system information commands (such as 'cat /proc/cpuinfo' on Android or checking BIOS/UEFI on other embedded devices) to determine the exact Snapdragon chipset model number
    Affected if The chipset model matches Apq8009, Apq8053, Apq8096au, Msm8909w, Msm8917, Msm8920, Msm8937, or Msm8940
  2. Confirm firmware version
    Use vendor-specific commands or tools to retrieve the current firmware version installed on the chipset (often accessible via AT commands on modems, or through the device's baseband version information in system settings)
    Affected if The chipset is one of the affected models listed in the CVE regardless of version, as all versions are vulnerable
  3. Monitor outbound network connections
    Use network monitoring tools (such as Wireshark, tcpdump, or the device's built-in firewall logs) to capture and inspect outbound network traffic, focusing on connections to unknown or unexpected remote IP addresses or domains
    Affected if Network traffic is being transmitted from the device to unauthorized or suspicious remote servers, especially if the destination is unknown or not configured by the user
  4. Inspect for unusual data transmission
    Review network logs for any baseband modem or chipset-related processes that are sending data to remote servers, particularly over ports not typically used by standard applications
    Affected if Baseband, modem, or firmware-related processes are observed transmitting sensitive device information or user data to remote servers without user initiation or legitimate purpose

A device is affected if it contains any of the listed Qualcomm chipset models (Apq8009, Apq8053, Apq8096au, Msm8909w, Msm8917, Msm8920, Msm8937, Msm8940) and exhibits unauthorized outbound data transmission to unknown remote servers.

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-provided firmware updates from Qualcomm and device manufacturers once available. Implement network monitoring to detect unauthorized data exfiltration to unknown remote servers.

Fix this in Apq8009 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
19.0 hours of engineering $3,280
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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-2019-10523 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