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Apq8017 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2021-1983

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-10-20
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Possible buffer overflow due to improper handling of negative data length while processing write request in VR service in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, 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 confidence

Buffer overflow vulnerability in Qualcomm Snapdragon VR service where improper handling of negative data length during write request processing could allow an attacker to overwrite memory boundaries, potentially leading to code execution or service denial.

MitigationApply vendor-supplied firmware/security patches from Qualcomm for affected Snapdragon product lines; verify VR service input validation logic properly rejects or handles negative length values.

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
Apq8017 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8053 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8064au FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8096au FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Aqt1000 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Msm8917 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Msm8953 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Msm8996au 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
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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the chipset and firmware version
    Check the system information or /proc/cpuinfo to identify the Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset model (Apq8017, Apq8053, Apq8064au, Apq8096au, Aqt1000, Msm8917, Msm8953, or Msm8996au) and its firmware version. On Android, this may also be found in Settings > About Phone or via 'getprop' commands.
    Affected if The chipset matches one of the affected models (Apq8017, Apq8053, Apq8064au, Apq8096au, Aqt1000, Msm8917, Msm8953, or Msm8996au) and the firmware is any version.
  2. Locate the Snapdragon VR service
    Identify if the Qualcomm Snapdragon VR service is installed and running on the device. Look for processes named 'snapdragonvr', 'vr', or similar VR-related services in the running processes list using 'ps' or task manager utilities.
    Affected if The Snapdragon VR service is present and running on the device.
  3. Check VR service configuration
    Examine the VR service configuration files or permissions to determine if write request handling is enabled. Look in /system/etc, /vendor/etc, or application-specific VR service configurations for any settings related to data write operations.
    Affected if The VR service has write request processing enabled in its configuration.
  4. Verify input validation for length parameters
    If you have access to the VR service logs or can perform controlled testing, inspect whether the service properly validates or rejects negative length values in write requests. This may require analyzing service logs or using diagnostic tools to send test requests.
    Affected if The VR service does not properly reject or handle negative length values and accepts them for processing.

You are affected if your device uses one of the listed Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets (Apq8017, Apq8053, Apq8064au, Apq8096au, Aqt1000, Msm8917, Msm8953, or Msm8996au), has the Snapdragon VR service running, and the VR service accepts negative length values in write requests without proper validation.

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-supplied firmware/security patches from Qualcomm for affected Snapdragon product lines; verify VR service input validation logic properly rejects or handles negative length values.

Fix this in Apq8017 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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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-2021-1983 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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