CVE-2023-33063
Memory Safety in Qualcomm 315 5G Iot Modem Firmware
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2023-33063 is a high-severity Use After Free (CWE-416) vulnerability in Qualcomm 315 5G Iot Modem Firmware. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique OS Credential Dumping (T1003); ranked in the top 49% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2023-33063 is a memory corruption vulnerability, specifically a use-after-free issue tracked as CWE-416, that occurs in DSP Services when handling a remote procedure call originating from the High-Level Operating System (HLOS) to the DSP. The flaw affects Qualcomm chipsets that implement these DSP services and carries a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8.
An attacker with local access and low privileges on an affected device can trigger the flaw by issuing a crafted remote call, resulting in arbitrary code execution or memory corruption that yields full control over confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the DSP environment without user interaction.
Qualcomm’s December 2023 security bulletin addresses the issue and directs vendors to apply the corresponding firmware and driver updates. The vulnerability is also catalogued in CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list, confirming observed in-the-wild exploitation. The current EPSS score of 0.0044 remains low and shows no material upward movement.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2023-37252
Vulnerability Data
Memory corruption in DSP Services during a remote call from HLOS to DSP.
- CWE(s)
- KEV Date Added
- 05 December 2023
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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- 3 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
V1.4.3
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.
Use-after-free exploits that achieve arbitrary code execution are blocked or significantly hardened by non-executable pages and ASLR.
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.
Vulnerability identification processes can discover use-after-free issues via scanning or analysis but do not prevent their introduction.
Routine patching removes known use-after-free instances after they have been introduced in released software.
Secure SDLC practices directly incorporate memory-safety tooling and reviews that prevent most use-after-free defects.
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.
Hardening callouts derived
Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (higher-evidence rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).
Oracle Linux 8 (1 rule)
- V-248592 OL 8 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. blocks CWE-416
RHEL 8 (1 rule)
- V-230279 RHEL 8 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. blocks CWE-416
RHEL 9 (1 rule)
- V-257794 RHEL 9 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. blocks CWE-416