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Ar8035 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2023-21658

HIGH · 7.5 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 →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Transient DOS in WLAN Firmware while processing the received beacon or probe response frame.

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 denial of service vulnerability in WLAN firmware allows an attacker within radio range to crash or hang WiFi devices by sending specially crafted beacon or probe response frames during normal wireless communication processing.

MitigationApply vendor-supplied firmware patches when available. Prioritize patching for exposed/edge devices. Consider network segmentation to limit attacker proximity until patches are deployed.

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
Ar8035 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Ar9380 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Csr8811 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Wcn6750 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Qca6390 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Wcn685x 5 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Wcn685x 1 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Wcn785x 1 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
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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the wireless chipset model
    Check system information, device specifications, or lspci/lsusb output for wireless adapters. Look for Qualcomm Atheros or Qualcomm identifiers in the network hardware listing.
    Affected if The device uses any of: Qualcomm Ar8035, Ar9380, Csr8811, Wcn6750, Qca6390, Wcn685x, or Wcn785x chipsets.
  2. Retrieve the installed firmware version
    Use platform-specific commands such as 'cat /sys/class/net/*/device/firmware_version', 'iw dev', 'ath10k-ct -v', or vendor-specific tools to query the wireless firmware version. Check device management interfaces for firmware information.
    Affected if The firmware version cannot be determined or matches any of the affected chipset models listed.
  3. Confirm wireless radio is enabled
    Check if the wireless interface is up using 'ip link show' or 'iwconfig'. Verify that WiFi is not disabled via hardware switch, software radio kill switch, or BIOS setting.
    Affected if Wireless radio is active and the device is within radio range of potential attackers.
  4. Review system and kernel logs for WiFi anomalies
    Examine dmesg, journalctl, or system event logs for messages indicating wireless crashes, hangs, association failures, or firmware errors related to beacon/probe response processing.
    Affected if Logs show repeated WiFi disconnects, firmware crashes, or inability to maintain wireless connections without other explana tion.
  5. Check for vendor firmware update availability
    Visit the device or chipset vendor support pages, or check the device management interface for available firmware updates specific to the Qualcomm wireless chip.
    Affected if A firmware update addressing this CVE is available and has not been applied.

If the device contains any of the listed Qualcomm wireless chipsets and has WiFi enabled, it is affected by this vulnerability since all firmware versions are impacted.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply vendor-supplied firmware patches when available. Prioritize patching for exposed/edge devices. Consider network segmentation to limit attacker proximity until patches are deployed.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Contact device vendor for firmware version containing CVE-2023-21658 fix

  1. 1. Identify the specific Qualcomm chipset/model in your device (Ar8035, Ar9380, Csr8811, Wcn6750, Qca6390, Wcn685x, or Wcn785x)
  2. 2. Contact the device manufacturer to obtain firmware updates that address CVE-2023-21658
  3. 3. Verify the manufacturer has released a security patch for this specific vulnerability
  4. 4. Apply the firmware update following the manufacturer's recommended procedures
  5. 5. After updating, confirm the WLAN firmware version includes the security fix
Caveat Firmware updates may require device downtime and should be tested in a staging environment first

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Ar8035 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,690
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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-2023-21658 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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