CVE-2021-1959
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 · uneditedPossible memory corruption due to lack of bound check of input index in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon IoT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Voice & Music, Snapdragon Wearables
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 confidenceMemory corruption vulnerability in Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets caused by missing bounds checking on an input index, allowing an attacker to potentially read/write outside intended memory boundaries across multiple product lines including Mobile, IoT, Compute, and Wearables.
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 dataall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsCVSS 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
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the Qualcomm chipset model in the deviceQuery the system or device documentation for the processor/soc identifier. On Linux systems, this may be available via 'cat /proc/cpuinfo' or device tree information. On Android, check Settings > About Phone > SoC details. For IoT/embedded devices, consult hardware specifications or schematics.Affected if The chipset model matches one of: Apq8009, Apq8009w, Apq8017, Apq8037, Apq8053, Apq8096au, Aqt1000, or Ar8035
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Determine the firmware version of the Qualcomm chipsetRetrieve the firmware version from the bootloader, radio, or baseband information. On Android, this may appear in Settings > About Phone > Build Number or via 'getprop' commands. For embedded devices, consult vendor documentation on accessing firmware version strings.Affected if The firmware version cannot be determined or is any version (all versions of affected chipsets are vulnerable)
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Verify the chipset falls within the affected product categoriesConfirm the device uses a Snapdragon chipset for Mobile, IoT, Compute, or Wearables product lines. Cross-reference the identified chipset model against the list of affected products.Affected if The device uses one of the listed affected chipset models in a Mobile, IoT, Compute, or Wearables product category
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Check if the vulnerable memory access component is activeThis vulnerability involves missing bounds checking on an input index in the firmware. Since specific component details are not provided, verify the device is running unpatched firmware by confirming no security updates addressing CVE-2021-1959 have been applied.Affected if The device is running the original firmware with no CVE-2021-1959-related security patches applied
A defender is affected if their device contains any of the following Qualcomm chipsets: Apq8009, Apq8009w, Apq8017, Apq8037, Apq8053, Apq8096au, Aqt1000, or Ar8035, and the firmware has not been updated with vendor patches addressing this vulnerability.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataApply vendor-supplied firmware patches from Qualcomm once released; coordinate with device manufacturers for deployment of security updates to affected products.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing16.0 h
- Review / QA8.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $9,856.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-1959 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-1959 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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
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