CVE-2022-40536
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 improper authentication in modem while receiving plain TLB OTA request message from network.
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 allows a transient denial of service in mobile device modems due to improper authentication when processing plain TLB (Transmission Line Block) OTA (Over-The-Air) request messages from the network. An attacker sending specially crafted unauthenticated OTA messages can cause the modem to become temporarily unavailable.
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.
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Identify the Qualcomm modem model in your environmentCheck system documentation, device inventory, or run modem diagnostic commands (such as 'at+cgmm', 'at+qcfg', or vendor-specific queries) to confirm the exact Qualcomm modem chipset and firmware versionAffected if The modem model matches any of: Qualcomm 315 5g IoT Modem, Ar8035, Wcn3991, Wcn3998, Wcn6750, Qca6390, Wcn685x 5, or Wcn685x 1
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Confirm the firmware versionRetrieve the current firmware version from the modem using AT commands (such as 'ati', 'at+cgmr') or through the device management interface. Compare against the list of affected products (all versions are affected)Affected if The device runs any firmware version on the listed affected Qualcomm modem chipsets
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Check if OTA message processing is enabledReview modem configuration settings for OTA/TLB message handling. Look for settings related to 'OTA', 'TLB', 'FOTA', or 'firmware over-the-air' in the modem or baseband configuration filesAffected if OTA or TLB message processing is enabled on the modem, as this is the attack surface for the vulnerability
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Verify network exposure of the modemDetermine if the modem is directly exposed to unauthenticated network OTA messages (for example, in cellular IoT devices, base stations, or connected vehicles). Check network segmentation and whether the modem connects to carrier networks where attackers could inject malicious OTA messagesAffected if The modem can receive OTA messages from untrusted or unauthenticated network sources
A system is affected if it uses any of the listed Qualcomm modem chipsets (315 5g IoT, Ar8035, Wcn3991, Wcn3998, Wcn6750, Qca6390, Wcn685x) with OTA/TLB message processing enabled and is exposed to network OTA traffic
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-supplied firmware updates for affected modem/baseband components. Network operators may implement filtering at the RAN/core level to reject malformed TLB OTA requests.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-40536 — 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-2022-40536 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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- 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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