Cyber Resilience

CVE-2024-38404

Memory Safety in Qualcomm Ar8035 Firmware

Published
03 February 2025
Modified
05 February 2025
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.5
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0025 16th percentile
Risk Priority 57 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2024-38404 is a high-severity Buffer Over-read (CWE-126) vulnerability in Qualcomm Ar8035 Firmware. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique OS Credential Dumping (T1003); ranked at the 16th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SA-8 (Security and Privacy Engineering Principles) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

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-2024-38404 is a vulnerability that triggers a transient denial-of-service (DoS) condition in modems upon receipt of a registration accept Over-The-Air (OTA) message containing incorrect ciphering key data Information Element (IE). It affects Qualcomm modem components and is associated with CWE-126 (Buffer Over-read) and CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read). The issue was published on 2025-02-03 with a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H), highlighting its high availability impact without affecting confidentiality or integrity.

Remote attackers can exploit this vulnerability over the network with low complexity, no required privileges, and no user interaction. Successful exploitation results in a transient DoS, temporarily disrupting modem operations such as connectivity or processing.

The Qualcomm February 2025 security bulletin at https://docs.qualcomm.com/product/publicresources/securitybulletin/february-2025-bulletin.html provides details on mitigation, including affected products and available patches.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Transient DOS when registration accept OTA is received with incorrect ciphering key data IE in modem.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1003 OS Credential Dumping Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to dump credentials to obtain account login and credential material, normally in the form of a hash or a clear text password.
T1005 Data from Local System Collection
Adversaries may search local system sources, such as file systems, configuration files, local databases, virtual machine files, or process memory, to find files of interest and sensitive data prior to Exfiltration.
T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
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.
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-49847Same product: Qualcomm Ar8035
CVE-2024-49846Same product: Qualcomm Ar8035
CVE-2024-38403Same product: Qualcomm Ar8035
CVE-2023-33058Same product: Qualcomm Ar8035
CVE-2023-33060Same product: Qualcomm Ar8035
CVE-2025-47402Same product: Qualcomm Ar8035
CVE-2024-38405Same product: Qualcomm Ar8035
CVE-2024-21456Same product: Qualcomm Ar8035
CVE-2024-33020Same product: Qualcomm Ar8035
CVE-2024-33047Same product: Qualcomm Fastconnect 7800

Affected Assets

qualcomm
ar8035 firmware
all versions
qualcomm
fastconnect 7800 firmware
all versions
qualcomm
qca6584au firmware
all versions
qualcomm
qca6698aq firmware
all versions
qualcomm
qca8081 firmware
all versions
qualcomm
qca8337 firmware
all versions
qualcomm
qcc710 firmware
all versions
qualcomm
qcn6224 firmware
all versions
qualcomm
qcn6274 firmware
all versions
qualcomm
qfw7114 firmware
all versions
+30 more product configuration(s) — see NVD for full list

Mitigating Controls

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Developer testing and evaluation (static analysis, fuzzing, bounds checking tests) directly finds buffer over-read flaws.

Engineering principles such as memory-safe design and bounds-checked abstractions structurally stop introduction of out-of-bounds reads.

Process isolation limits the blast radius of an over-read to the compromised domain.

Input validation enforces length and index constraints that prevent many externally triggered over-reads.

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 development practices directly prevent introduction of buffer over-read weaknesses.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability identification processes can discover buffer over-read flaws via scanning or review.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching or replacing vulnerable software removes known instances of buffer over-read bugs.

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.

finds

Security testing in development can detect buffer over-reads before release.

A.8.15 Logging partial match
finds

Logging can record evidence of an out-of-bounds read but does not prevent the weakness itself.

prevents

Secure SDLC mandates input validation and bounds checking that can prevent buffer over-reads.

prevents

Application security requirements can specify buffer-size and bounds-checking rules.

prevents

Secure architecture principles include memory-safety and bounds-checking design choices.

prevents

Secure coding standards directly require bounds-checked buffer access, mitigating over-reads.

References