Mdm8207 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2022-33259

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-04-13
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges 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 buffer copy without checking the size of input in modem while decoding raw SMS received.

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

Buffer overflow vulnerability in modem firmware during raw SMS decoding. The component copies input data into a fixed-size buffer without validating the input size, leading to memory corruption that could allow remote code execution.

MitigationApply vendor-provided firmware patches for the modem component; implement SMS input validation at the network edge to filter malformed messages before delivery to devices.

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
Mdm8207 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9205 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9206 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9207 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Qca4004 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Qts110 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Snapdragon Wear 1100 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Snapdragon Wear 1200 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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 chip model in your device
    Review your device specifications, datasheet, or FCC filing to identify the Qualcomm modem chipset. Alternatively, check the device's AT command interface by connecting to the modem serial port and sending 'AT+CGMM' or 'AT+QCFG="nwscanmode"' to query modem identity.
    Affected if The modem chip is one of: Mdm8207, Mdm9205, Mdm9206, Mdm9207, Qca4004, Qts110, Snapdragon Wear 1100, or Snapdragon Wear 1200
  2. Confirm SMS functionality is enabled
    Check if the device has SMS capability enabled. On many embedded devices, this can be verified through the modem AT interface using 'AT+CMGF?' to query message format mode, or by checking device configuration for SMS routing.
    Affected if SMS functionality is enabled and the device processes incoming SMS messages
  3. Check if raw SMS decoding is in use
    Query the modem's SMS message storage and processing settings using 'AT+CNMI?' (Notification Mode) or review application logs for SMS PDU processing activity. Raw SMS decoding is typically used when devices parse SMS PDU format directly.
    Affected if The device uses raw SMS decoding (PDU mode) rather than text mode for SMS processing
  4. Verify modem firmware version if accessible
    Connect to the modem AT interface and query firmware version using 'AT+CGMR' or 'AT+QVERGEN='. Some Qualcomm modems also respond to 'AT+GMR' for baseband version information.
    Affected if All versions of the listed firmware are affected; version check confirms the vulnerable component is present

Your device is affected if it contains one of the listed Qualcomm modem chips and has SMS functionality enabled to process incoming SMS messages.

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-provided firmware patches for the modem component; implement SMS input validation at the network edge to filter malformed messages before delivery to devices.

Fix this in Mdm8207 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
21.0 hours of engineering $3,660
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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-2022-33259 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
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