Apq8053 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2021-35079

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-06-14
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
Improper validation of permissions for third party application accessing Telephony service API can lead to information disclosure in Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile

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

Improper permission validation in Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets' Telephony service API allows third-party applications to bypass access controls and potentially disclose sensitive telephony information. This is a firmware-level vulnerability affecting multiple Snapdragon product lines.

MitigationApply vendor-supplied firmware patches from Qualcomm/OEMs and verify the Telephony service API properly enforces permission checks for third-party applications.

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
Apq8053 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Aqt1000 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Msm8953 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Qca6390 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Qca6391 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Qca6420 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Qca6426 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Qca6430 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 device chipset model
    Check the device specifications or use system information commands (such as 'getprop' on Android or checking /proc/cpuinfo) to identify the Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset model
    Affected if The chipset model matches any of the following: Apq8053, Aqt1000, Msm8953, Qca6390, Qca6391, Qca6420, Qca6426, or Qca6430
  2. Verify the firmware version
    Check the firmware/baseband version installed on the device using manufacturer tools or system information (such as 'getprop' on Android for baseband version)
    Affected if Any firmware version is installed on an affected chipset model, as all versions are vulnerable
  3. Check Telephony service API permission configuration
    Review the Telephony service API configuration and permission enforcement settings in the firmware. On Android, this may involve checking SELinux policies, permission declarations in the telephony service, or using security audit tools to verify third-party app access controls
    Affected if The Telephony service API does not properly enforce permission checks for third-party applications, allowing unauthorized access to telephony information
  4. Test third-party app access to telephony information
    Use a benign third-party application or security testing tool to attempt to access sensitive telephony APIs (such as call logs, IMSI, IMEI, or other telephony data) without granted permissions
    Affected if A third-party application can access sensitive telephony information without proper runtime permissions being granted

The environment is affected if the device uses any of the affected Qualcomm chipset models (Apq8053, Aqt1000, Msm8953, Qca6390, Qca6391, Qca6420, Qca6426, or Qca6430) regardless of firmware version, as all versions of these chipsets contain the improper permission validation flaw in the Telephony service API.

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 patches from Qualcomm/OEMs and verify the Telephony service API properly enforces permission checks for third-party applications.

Fix this in Apq8053 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing10.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
36.0 hours of engineering $6,340
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2021-35079 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