CVE-2023-43551
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 · uneditedCryptographic issue while performing attach with a LTE network, a rogue base station can skip the authentication phase and immediately send the Security Mode 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 · high confidenceThis is a cryptographic authentication bypass vulnerability in LTE (4G) network attachment procedures. A rogue base station can exploit this flaw to skip the normal authentication phase during device attach and directly send a Security Mode Command, potentially allowing a man-in-the-middle attack against LTE connections.
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
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify LTE modem hardwareCheck device specifications, FCC ID, or hardware documentation to determine the exact Qualcomm modem model (e.g., Qualcomm 315, 9205, 9206, 9207, APQ8017, APQ8037, AQT1000, AR6003)Affected if The device contains any of the listed affected modem chipsets
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Verify firmware versionAccess the modem firmware version through AT command interface (e.g., AT+CGMR or ATI), device system info, or manufacturer firmware utilityAffected if Any firmware version is present on an affected modem since all versions are vulnerable
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Confirm LTE attach capabilityDetermine if the device actively uses LTE for network attachment by checking radio connection status, network registration logs, or modem diagnosticsAffected if The device performs LTE network attachment procedures
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Assess network exposureEvaluate whether the device operates in environments where rogue base stations could be present (e.g., mobile devices, IoT devices in public areas, cellular-connected equipment)Affected if The device can attach to LTE networks and may be in range of an adversarial base station
If the environment contains any device with the listed Qualcomm modem firmware performing LTE attach, it is affected since all versions of these modems contain the cryptographic bypass flaw.
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-specific patches for affected LTE network equipment (base stations, eNodeB, and core network elements) that address the cryptographic authentication flaw in the attach procedure.
- Consultation12.0 h
- Implementation32.0 h
- Testing16.0 h
- Review / QA8.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $19,200.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-43551 — 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-2023-43551 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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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.
- 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