CVE-2021-1973
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 · uneditedA FTM Diag command can allow an arbitrary write into modem OS space 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 confidenceThis vulnerability in Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets allows an arbitrary memory write into the modem OS space through the FTM (Factory Test Mode) Diag command interface. This is a privilege-escalation flaw in the modem firmware that could allow an attacker with local access to modify critical modem operating system memory regions.
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 your deviceCheck your device specifications, system information, or use commands like 'lspci', 'lsusb', or on Android check '/proc/cpuinfo' or 'Settings > About Phone' to find the chipset name (e.g., Apq8009, Apq8017, etc.)Affected if The chipset model matches any of the following: Apq8009, Apq8009w, Apq8017, Apq8037, Apq8053, Apq8064au, Apq8096au, or Aqt1000
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Confirm FTM Diag diagnostic interface is accessibleCheck if the FTM or Diag interface is exposed on your device. This may appear as a serial port, debug interface, or diagnostic service. On Android, check for '/dev/diag' or '/dev/tty*' interfaces related to diagnostics, or review OEM diagnostic settings.Affected if The FTM Diag interface is present and accessible (read/write) on the device
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Verify if device uses the affected chipset firmwareQuery the modem or baseband firmware version through device diagnostics, engineering mode, or by contacting your device OEM for the baseband/modem firmware build informationAffected if The device runs any version of firmware on an affected chipset (all versions of listed chipsets are vulnerable)
Your device is affected if it contains any of the listed Qualcomm chipsets (Apq8009, Apq8009w, Apq8017, Apq8037, Apq8053, Apq8064au, Apq8096au, Aqt1000) and has the FTM Diag interface accessible, as the vulnerability exists in all firmware versions of these chipsets.
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 through device OEMs. If FTM Diag functionality is not required in production, disable or restrict access to this diagnostic interface.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation24.0 h
- Testing16.0 h
- Review / QA6.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $15,040.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-1973 — 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-2021-1973 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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