Apq8009 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2023-21626

HIGH · 7.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-08-08
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
73/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
Cryptographic issue in HLOS due to improper authentication while performing key velocity checks using more than one key.

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

This is a cryptographic authentication bypass vulnerability in High-Level Operating System (HLOS) mobile devices. The flaw occurs in the key velocity checking mechanism when multiple cryptographic keys are used simultaneously, where improper authentication allows the velocity check to be bypassed or manipulated.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied security patch for CVE-2023-21626; this is an OS-level cryptographic fix that requires updating the device firmware to the patched version.

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
Apq8037 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Aqt1000 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Ar8035 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Csra6620 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Csra6640 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Csrb31024 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
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

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 device chipset model
    Check the device specifications or system information to determine the Qualcomm chipset model (Apq8009, Apq8017, Apq8037, Aqt1000, Ar8035, Csra6620, Csra6640, or Csrb31024)
    Affected if The chipset matches any of the eight affected models listed in the CVE
  2. Check the current firmware version
    Access the device firmware information through system settings, boot loader, or manufacturer documentation to retrieve the installed firmware version string
    Affected if The firmware version is earlier than the vendor-supplied patch date for CVE-2023-21626, or if the firmware version is not confirmed as patched by the vendor
  3. Verify if multiple cryptographic keys are in use
    Inspect the device cryptographic configuration or audit logs to determine if multiple cryptographic keys are being used simultaneously in any cryptographic operation
    Affected if The device uses multiple cryptographic keys concurrently and the firmware has not been patched to address the key velocity check bypass vulnerability

A device is affected if it uses any of the eight listed Qualcomm chipset models and its firmware predates the vendor security patch for CVE-2023-21626, particularly when multiple cryptographic keys are operated simultaneously

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-supplied security patch for CVE-2023-21626; this is an OS-level cryptographic fix that requires updating the device firmware to the patched version.

Fix this in Apq8009 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
24.0 hours of engineering $4,160
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-21626 — 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-2023-21626 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