dbcve.org
Apq8017 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2021-35135

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-09-02
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
A null pointer dereference may potentially occur during RSA key import in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial 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 · high confidence

A null pointer dereference vulnerability exists in the RSA key import functionality of Qualcomm Snapdragon processors. When importing RSA keys, the code may attempt to dereference a null pointer, potentially causing a denial of service or potentially enabling further exploitation. This affects multiple Snapdragon product lines including Mobile, Compute, Auto, Connectivity, and IoT variants.

MitigationApply vendor firmware/security patch updates from Qualcomm when available. In the meantime, restrict RSA key import operations to trusted sources and implement input validation on any key import pathways.

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
Apq8037 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8053 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8096au FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Aqt1000 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Ar8031 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Ar8035 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Csra6620 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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 Qualcomm processor model in the device
    Check system information, device specifications, or /proc/cpuinfo on Linux-based embedded systems to determine the exact Qualcomm Snapdragon or other Qualcomm processor model number
    Affected if The processor model matches one of: Apq8017, Apq8037, Apq8053, Apq8096au, Aqt1000, Ar8031, Ar8035, or Csra6620
  2. Determine the firmware version of the affected Qualcomm component
    Query the device firmware, baseband firmware, or secure processing unit firmware version through vendor-specific interfaces, diagnostic tools, or by inspecting /proc/version, /sys/firmware, or manufacturer documentation
    Affected if The firmware version corresponds to any version of the listed affected products (all versions are impacted)
  3. Identify if RSA key import functionality is in use
    Review application logs, security audit trails, or monitor system calls related to RSA key import operations. Check if any applications or services are performing RSA key import through cryptographic APIs or secure key injection mechanisms
    Affected if RSA key import operations are being performed on the device through any software component that leverages the affected Qualcomm cryptographic firmware
  4. Check for crash logs or error reports indicating null pointer dereference in cryptographic operations
    Examine system logs, kernel logs, crash dumps, or error reporting systems for messages containing null pointer dereference errors occurring in RSA or cryptographic key handling code
    Affected if Null pointer dereference errors are logged during RSA key import or cryptographic key operations

The device is affected if it contains any of the listed Qualcomm processor models (Apq8017, Apq8037, Apq8053, Apq8096au, Aqt1000, Ar8031, Ar8035, Csra6620) running any firmware version and the RSA key import functionality is actively used or has been used on the system.

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 firmware/security patch updates from Qualcomm when available. In the meantime, restrict RSA key import operations to trusted sources and implement input validation on any key import pathways.

Fix this in Apq8017 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,560
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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-2021-35135 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