CVE-2021-35116
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 · uneditedAPK can load a crafted model into the CDSP which can lead to a compromise of CDSP and other APK`s data executing there in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile, 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 · high confidenceA vulnerability in Qualcomm's Compute Digital Signal Processor (CDSP) allows a malicious APK to load a crafted model that can compromise the CDSP's security, potentially exposing or manipulating data from other APKs executing on the same processor.
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
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the Qualcomm chipset modelCheck device information via Settings > About Phone > Chipset/Processor, or run 'getprop ro.hardware' or 'getprop ro.board.platform' in ADB shell, or inspect /proc/cpuinfoAffected if The chipset model matches Apq8009, Apq8009w, Apq8096au, Aqt1000, Csrb31024, Mdm9607, Mdm9626, or Mdm9628
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Verify CDSP subsystem presenceCheck for /dsp or /vendor/dsp directory existence, or look for 'cdsp' in kernel boot logs via 'dmesg | grep -i cdsp' or 'logcat | grep -i dsp' in ADB shellAffected if The CDSP subsystem is present and accessible on the device
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Check CDSP firmware versionRead /sys/kernel/debug/cdsp/fw_version or /sys/class/cdsp/cdsp0/fw_version if accessible, or use 'cat /vendor/firmware_mnt/image/cdsp*' to list firmware filesAffected if CDSP firmware is present; all firmware versions for listed chipsets are affected
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Confirm APK execution environmentCheck if third-party APK installation is allowed (Settings > Security > Unknown sources) and verify CDSP permissions via 'dumpsys package <package>' for apps with DSP accessAffected if Apps can be installed from untrusted sources and have CDSP access permissions
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Check for security patch levelRun 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' in ADB shell to see the installed Android security patch dateAffected if The security patch level is earlier than the vendor fix release date for this CVE
If the device uses any of the affected Qualcomm chipset models (Apq8009, Apq8009w, Apq8096au, Aqt1000, Csrb31024, Mdm9607, Mdm9626, Mdm9628) and the CDSP is enabled, the device is vulnerable to this CVE.
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/security updates for affected Snapdragon chipsets; users should ensure their devices are running the latest manufacturer-provided software version.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing12.0 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 $12,352.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-35116 — 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-2021-35116 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data