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Apq8017 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2023-21628

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-06-06
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 HAL while processing WMI-UTF command or FTM TLV1 command.

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 Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) that can be triggered when processing either WMI-UTF commands or FTM TLV1 commands. This indicates a potential buffer overflow or improper memory handling during command parsing in the wireless driver firmware.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied firmware/driver patch that addresses the memory corruption in the WLAN HAL command processing. Prioritize updates for devices with direct wireless attack exposure.

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
Apq8017 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8064au FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8076 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8092 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8094 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Aqt1000 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Ar8031 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Ar8035 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 wireless chipset model
    Run 'lspci -nnk' for PCIe WiFi, 'lsusb' for USB wireless adapters, or check '/proc/bus/usb/devices'. On Android, use 'getprop' or check '/sys/class/net/*/device/uevent'
    Affected if The chipset matches any of: Apq8017, Apq8064au, Apq8076, Apq8092, Apq8094, Aqt1000, Ar8031, Ar8035
  2. Check the installed WLAN firmware version
    On Linux, use 'iw list' or check '/lib/firmware/ath10k/QCA*/hw*.bin'. For other chips, check '/sys/class/net/wlan*/device/firmware_version' or run 'ethtool -i wlan0'
    Affected if The firmware version cannot be determined or is an unpatched build for any of the affected chipset models
  3. Verify if WLAN interface is active
    Run 'ip link show' or 'iw dev' to list wireless interfaces. Check 'ip addr show wlan0' (or similar) for interface status
    Affected if A wireless interface exists and is up using one of the affected Qualcomm chipsets
  4. Check if WMI-UTF or FTM TLV1 command processing is enabled
    Examine driver configuration: check 'dmesg | grep -i wmi' for WMI events, or review '/sys/module/ath10k/parameters/*' (for ath10k) or similar driver debugfs. For FTM, check if 802.11mc/Fine Timing Measurement is advertised via 'iw dev wlan0 info'
    Affected if WMI-UTF command support or FTM (Fine Timing Measurement) capability is enabled in the wireless driver
  5. Inspect kernel/system logs for HAL-related crashes
    Run 'dmesg | grep -iE "(hal|memory|corruption|buffer|overflow|wlan|firmware|crash)"' and check '/var/log/syslog' or journalctl for wireless driver errors
    Affected if Memory corruption, buffer overflow, or WLAN HAL crashes are logged, especially in contexts involving WMI or FTM command processing

If the system uses any of the listed Qualcomm chipsets (Apq8017, Apq8064au, Apq8076, Apq8092, Apq8094, Aqt1000, Ar8031, Ar8035) with an active WLAN interface and the firmware is not patched, the environment is likely affected, especially if WMI-UTF or FTM features are in use.

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 firmware/driver patch that addresses the memory corruption in the WLAN HAL command processing. Prioritize updates for devices with direct wireless attack exposure.

Fix this in Apq8017 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
32.0 hours of engineering $5,640
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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-2023-21628 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