Cyber Resilience

CVE-2024-45546

Memory Safety in Qualcomm Fastconnect 6900 Firmware

Published
06 January 2025
Modified
13 January 2025
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.00087 0.4th percentile
Risk Priority 54 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2024-45546 is a high-severity Buffer Over-read (CWE-126) vulnerability in Qualcomm Fastconnect 6900 Firmware. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique OS Credential Dumping (T1003); ranked at the 0.4th 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-2024-45546 is a memory corruption vulnerability stemming from improper handling of FIPS encryption or decryption IOCTL calls invoked from user-space. It affects Qualcomm components, as detailed in their security bulletin, and is associated with CWE-126 (Buffer Over-read) and CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read). The issue carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H), indicating high potential impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

A local attacker with low privileges, such as a standard user on the affected system, can exploit this vulnerability due to its low attack complexity and lack of user interaction requirements. Successful exploitation triggers memory corruption, potentially allowing arbitrary code execution, data tampering, or system crashes within the context of the vulnerable component.

Qualcomm has addressed this issue in their January 2025 security bulletin, available at https://docs.qualcomm.com/product/publicresources/securitybulletin/january-2025-bulletin.html, which provides details on affected products and recommended patches or mitigations for security practitioners.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Memory corruption while processing FIPS encryption or decryption IOCTL call invoked from user-space.

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-2024-45548Same product: Qualcomm Fastconnect 6900
CVE-2023-33078Same product: Qualcomm Fastconnect 6900
CVE-2024-33047Same product: Qualcomm Fastconnect 6900
CVE-2023-33058Same product: Qualcomm Fastconnect 6900
CVE-2023-33060Same product: Qualcomm Fastconnect 6900
CVE-2024-38403Same product: Qualcomm Fastconnect 6900
CVE-2024-49846Same product: Qualcomm Fastconnect 7800
CVE-2025-47402Same product: Qualcomm Fastconnect 6900
CVE-2024-33020Same product: Qualcomm Fastconnect 6900
CVE-2024-38405Same product: Qualcomm Fastconnect 6900

Affected Assets

qualcomm
fastconnect 6900 firmware
all versions
qualcomm
fastconnect 7800 firmware
all versions
qualcomm
qcc2073 firmware
all versions
qualcomm
qcc2076 firmware
all versions
qualcomm
sc8380xp firmware
all versions
qualcomm
wcd9380 firmware
all versions
qualcomm
wcd9385 firmware
all versions
qualcomm
wsa8840 firmware
all versions
qualcomm
wsa8845 firmware
all versions
qualcomm
wsa8845h firmware
all versions

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