Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-21643

Memory Safety in Qualcomm Apq8064Au Firmware

Memory Safety
Published
08 August 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 9.1
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:H/A:L
EPSS Score 0.0024 15th percentile
Risk Priority 61 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-21643 is a critical-severity Untrusted Pointer Dereference (CWE-822) vulnerability in Qualcomm Apq8064Au Firmware. Its CVSS base score is 9.1 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 15th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Memory corruption due to untrusted pointer dereference in automotive during system call.

CWE(s)
CWE-822CWE-787

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
attack.mitre.org →
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
attack.mitre.org →
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1211 Exploitation for Stealth Stealth
Adversaries may exploit vulnerabilities to evade detection by hiding activity, suppressing logging, or operating within trusted or unmonitored components.
attack.mitre.org →
T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access Credential Access
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to collect credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-21632Same product: Qualcomm Apq8064Au
CVE-2024-45581Same product: Qualcomm Qam8295P
CVE-2024-45555Same product: Qualcomm Msm8996Au
CVE-2023-43518Same product: Qualcomm Qam8295P
CVE-2024-53030Same product: Qualcomm Msm8996Au
CVE-2023-22384Same product: Qualcomm Qca6574Au
CVE-2024-33038Same vendor: Qualcomm
CVE-2024-45543Same product: Qualcomm Msm8996Au
CVE-2024-23374Same product: Qualcomm Qca6574Au
CVE-2023-21648Same product: Qualcomm Qca6574A

Affected Assets

qualcomm
apq8064au firmware
all versions
qualcomm
apq8096au firmware
all versions
qualcomm
msm8996au firmware
all versions
qualcomm
qam8295p firmware
all versions
qualcomm
qca6564a firmware
all versions
qualcomm
qca6564au firmware
all versions
qualcomm
qca6574a firmware
all versions
qualcomm
qca6574au firmware
all versions
qualcomm
qca6584au firmware
all versions
qualcomm
qca6595 firmware
all versions
+14 more product configuration(s) — see NVD for full list

Mitigating Controls

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

SI-16 Memory Protection
addresses: CWE-787

Out-of-bounds writes that corrupt control flow or inject shellcode are rendered non-executable by the same memory protections.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly prevent introduction of untrusted pointer handling during development.

DE.CM-09 partial match
prevents

Runtime monitoring of software and data can detect adverse events resulting from exploitation of the weakness.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability identification processes can discover instances of this weakness via code review or scanning.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching or replacing vulnerable software directly eliminates known instances of this coding weakness.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing can detect pointer-dereference flaws before release.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development lifecycle includes pointer-safety practices that reduce untrusted pointer dereference risk.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements can mandate validation of pointers obtained from untrusted sources.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure architecture principles discourage direct use of untrusted values as pointers.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid dereferencing pointers derived from untrusted input.

A.8.32 Change management partial match
prevents

Change management can enforce review gates that catch unsafe memory operations before deployment.

References