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Apq8098 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2019-14081

HIGH · 7.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-03-05
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
73/100
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
Buffer Over-read when WLAN module gets a WMI message for SAR limits with invalid number of limits to be enforced in Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Consumer Electronics Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Wired Infrastructure and Networking in APQ8098, IPQ8074, MSM8998, QCA8081, QCN7605, QCS605, SDA660, SDA845, SDM630, SDM636, SDM660, SDM670, SDM710, SDM845, SDM850, SM8150, SXR1130

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

A buffer over-read vulnerability exists in the WLAN module when processing WMI (Wireless Management Interface) messages containing SAR (Specific Absorption Rate) limit configurations. The vulnerability occurs when a WMI message specifies an invalid number of SAR limits to be enforced, causing the driver to read beyond the allocated buffer bounds. This could allow memory disclosure or potentially enable further exploitation.

MitigationApply vendor firmware/driver updates that properly validate the SAR limit count in WMI messages before processing the buffer. Additionally, restrict WMI message handling to trusted sources to reduce attack surface.

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
Apq8098 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Ipq8074 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Msm8998 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Qca8081 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Qcn7605 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Qcs605 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sda660 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sda845 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
High

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

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 WLAN chipset model
    Check the system hardware information or network adapter details to determine the Qualcomm chipset in use (Apq8098, Ipq8074, Msm8998, Qca8081, Qcn7605, Qcs605, Sda660, or Sda845)
    Affected if The chipset matches any of the listed affected models (Apq8098, Ipq8074, Msm8998, Qca8081, Qcn7605, Qcs605, Sda660, Sda845)
  2. Check the WLAN driver version
    Retrieve the wireless driver or firmware version from the device (commands like 'iw list', 'wlanctl', or vendor-specific tools depending on the platform)
    Affected if The driver or firmware version cannot be determined or falls within the affected firmware ranges for the identified chipset
  3. Verify WLAN module is active
    Check if the wireless interface is up and running (using 'ip link show', 'ifconfig', or platform-specific network status commands)
    Affected if The WLAN interface is enabled and actively processing WMI messages
  4. Check for SAR configuration support
    Examine whether SAR (Specific Absorption Rate) limit configuration is supported or exposed in the wireless driver (look for SAR-related modules, config files, or WMI event handlers)
    Affected if The driver supports SAR limit configuration via WMI messages, which is the attack vector for this vulnerability

If the device uses any of the affected Qualcomm chipsets (Apq8098, Ipq8074, Msm8998, Qca8081, Qcn7605, Qcs605, Sda660, Sda845) and has WLAN functionality enabled, the environment is likely affected since all firmware versions for these chipsets are vulnerable.

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/driver updates that properly validate the SAR limit count in WMI messages before processing the buffer. Additionally, restrict WMI message handling to trusted sources to reduce attack surface.

Fix this in Apq8098 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation10.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,920
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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-2019-14081 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
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