CVE-2021-40148
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 · uneditedIn Modem EMM, there is a possible information disclosure due to a missing data encryption. This could lead to remote information disclosure with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Patch ID: MOLY00716585; Issue ID: ALPS05886933.
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 exists in the modem's EPS Mobility Management (EMM) layer where data that should be encrypted is being transmitted in plaintext, allowing remote attackers to intercept sensitive mobility management information without authentication or user interaction.
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 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Mediatek modem model in useQuery the cellular modem for its model using AT commands (e.g., AT+CGMM or ATI) or inspect hardware specifications and device inventory recordsAffected if The modem model is any of: L9, Lr11, Lr12, Lr12a, Lr13, or Nr15
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Retrieve modem firmware versionQuery the modem firmware version using AT commands such as AT+CGMR or AT+GMR, or check the firmware manifest on the deviceAffected if A version is returned and the modem is one of the affected models listed above
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Verify patch inclusionCompare the installed firmware version against the patched version MOLY00716585, or check vendor release notes to confirm the patch is incorporated in the current firmware buildAffected if The firmware version is older than the patched build containing MOLY00716585, or the patch status cannot be confirmed
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Confirm EMM plaintext transmission is activeCapture and inspect cellular network traffic (using a protocol analyzer or network monitoring tool) for unencrypted EMM messages between the modem and base stationAffected if EPS Mobility Management messages are observed in plaintext rather than encrypted
You are affected if your environment contains any Mediatek modem model L9, Lr11, Lr12, Lr12a, Lr13, or Nr15 running firmware without the MOLY00716585 patch.
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 the vendor firmware patch (MOLY00716585) to affected cellular modem implementations to enforce proper data encryption in the EMM layer.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,544.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-40148 — 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-2021-40148 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