Apq8009 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2022-40531

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-03-10
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 in WLAN due to incorrect type cast while sending WMI_SCAN_SCH_PRIO_TBL_CMDID message.

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 the WLAN subsystem where an incorrect type cast occurs when processing the WMI_SCAN_SCH_PRIO_TBL_CMDID message. This type confusion during WMI command handling leads to memory corruption that could allow privilege escalation or denial of service.

MitigationApply the vendor-provided patch for CVE-2022-40531; this is a code-level fix requiring updates to the WLAN driver or firmware from the affected device manufacturer.

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
Apq8017 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8076 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
Ar9380 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 Qualcomm WLAN chip model
    Check system hardware information or WiFi adapter details. On Linux, use 'lspci | grep -i wireless' or 'iw list'. On Android, check /proc/cpuinfo or WiFi driver modules.
    Affected if The chip model matches any of: Apq8009, Apq8017, Apq8076, Apq8096au, Aqt1000, Ar8031, Ar8035, or Ar9380
  2. Check the WLAN firmware version
    Retrieve firmware version from the wireless interface. On Linux, check /sys/class/net/*/device/firmware_version or use 'ethtool -i <interface>'. On embedded devices, check manufacturer documentation or /proc filesystem.
    Affected if Firmware version cannot be determined or matches the affected chipset models listed (all versions are affected per vendor advisory)
  3. Verify the WMI interface is present
    Check if the wireless interface exposes WMI functionality. On Linux, look for WMI-related modules: 'ls /sys/class/wmi/' or check driver debugfs: 'ls /sys/kernel/debug/wlan/'
    Affected if The WMI interface exists and handles WMI_SCAN_SCH_PRIO_TBL_CMDID commands - this is the component with the type confusion vulnerability
  4. Check system logs for WLAN-related memory errors
    Review kernel logs for crash indicators: 'dmesg | grep -i wlan' or 'journalctl -k | grep -i wmi'. Look for signs of memory corruption, type confusion errors, or unexpected WLAN driver crashes.
    Affected if Logs show memory corruption, type confusion errors, or repeated WLAN driver crashes that may indicate exploitation of this vulnerability

Your environment is affected if you are running any of the listed Qualcomm WLAN chipsets (Apq8009, Apq8017, Apq8076, Apq8096au, Aqt1000, Ar8031, Ar8035, Ar9380) with their original firmware, as all versions of these chips contain the type confusion flaw in WMI command processing.

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 the vendor-provided patch for CVE-2022-40531; this is a code-level fix requiring updates to the WLAN driver or firmware from the affected device manufacturer.

Fix this in Apq8009 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
19.0 hours of engineering $3,380
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-40531 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-40531 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