Apq8009 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2022-33233

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-02-12
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
Memory corruption due to configuration weakness in modem wile sending command to write protected files.

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

A memory corruption vulnerability exists in modem firmware due to a configuration weakness that improperly handles commands sent to write-protected files. The flaw allows memory corruption to occur when the modem processes write commands to protected file areas, likely due to insufficient access control or validation in the firmware's file handling subsystem.

MitigationUpdate modem firmware to vendor-provided patched versions; if unavailable, restrict administrative access to the modem's configuration interface and disable unnecessary remote management features to reduce attack surface.

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
Apq8009 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8009w FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8017 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8037 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8052 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8056 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8076 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8096au 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 modem chipset model
    Check the device documentation, system information, or run commands like 'at+qversion' (for Qualcomm modems) or 'lsusb'/'lspci' to identify the Qualcomm Apq chipset present in the system
    Affected if The device uses any of the following chipsets: Apq8009, Apq8009w, Apq8017, Apq8037, Apq8052, Apq8056, Apq8076, or Apq8096au
  2. Verify the firmware version
    Query the modem firmware version using AT commands such as 'at+qfirmware' or through the device's administrative interface under firmware or modem status sections
    Affected if The installed firmware version is any version of the affected Qualcomm Apq chipsets listed (all versions are affected)
  3. Confirm administrative interface accessibility
    Check if the modem's configuration or administrative web interface is accessible on the network by attempting to access common ports (typically 80, 443, 8080) or using commands like 'netstat' to identify listening services related to modem management
    Affected if The modem's configuration or administrative interface is exposed and accessible without restriction
  4. Test for write command vulnerability
    If administrative access is available, attempt to send a file write command (such as AT+QFSWRITE or similar file system write operations) to a protected file area and observe the response for successful execution or memory-related errors
    Affected if Write commands to protected file areas execute without proper access control validation or trigger unexpected behavior indicating the vulnerability

The environment is affected if the device runs on any of the listed Qualcomm Apq chipsets (Apq8009, Apq8009w, Apq8017, Apq8037, Apq8052, Apq8056, Apq8076, Apq8096au) with any firmware version and the modem's file handling subsystem is accessible for write operations to protected areas.

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

Update modem firmware to vendor-provided patched versions; if unavailable, restrict administrative access to the modem's configuration interface and disable unnecessary remote management features to reduce attack surface.

Fix this in Apq8009 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
42.0 hours of engineering $7,360
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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-2022-33233 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