CVE-2022-33238
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 · uneditedTransient DOS due to loop with unreachable exit condition in WLAN while processing an incoming FTM frames. in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer Electronics Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon IoT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Voice & Music, Snapdragon Wearables, Snapdragon Wired Infrastructure and Networking
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 denial of service vulnerability exists in the WLAN component of multiple Qualcomm Snapdragon chip families. The issue is caused by a loop with an unreachable exit condition when processing incoming FTM (Fine Timing Measurement) frames, causing the device to become unresponsive.
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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Identify the Qualcomm chip modelCheck /proc/cpuinfo or dmesg for chip identifiers such as Apq8009, Apq8017, Apq8064au, Apq8076, Apq8096au, Aqt1000, Ar8031, or Ar8035Affected if The chip model matches one of the listed affected Qualcomm chips (Apq8009, Apq8017, Apq8064au, Apq8076, Apq8096au, Aqt1000, Ar8031, Ar8035)
-
Verify WLAN interface is activeRun 'iwconfig' or 'ip link show' to check for wireless interfaces such as wlan0 or wlanoxffAffected if A wireless interface exists and is up, indicating WLAN is enabled on the affected chip
-
Confirm FTM (Fine Timing Measurement) supportRun 'iw list' and look for FTM responder or FTM initiator capabilities under 'Supported interface modes' or 'Supported commands'Affected if FTM functionality is listed as supported, meaning the vulnerable FTM frame processing code path is present
-
Check for wireless firmware versionExamine /lib/firmware or /vendor/firmware for WLAN firmware files, or run 'dmesg | grep -i firmware' to identify the loaded WLAN firmware versionAffected if WLAN firmware is loaded on one of the affected chip families (all versions of the listed chips are vulnerable)
The environment is affected if the device uses one of the listed Qualcomm chip models (Apq8009, Apq8017, Apq8064au, Apq8076, Apq8096au, Aqt1000, Ar8031, Ar8035) and has WLAN with FTM frame processing enabled, as the infinite loop triggers when processing incoming FTM frames.
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-provided firmware updates from Qualcomm and device OEMs to address the WLAN processing vulnerability. FTM frame handling should be reviewed and the infinite loop condition patched.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Testing16.0 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 $8,704.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-33238 — 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-2022-33238 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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