Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-21375

Memory Safety in Qualcomm Cologne Firmware

Published
06 April 2026
Modified
08 April 2026
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 0.00075 0.1th percentile
Risk Priority 53 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-21375 is a high-severity Buffer Over-read (CWE-126) vulnerability in Qualcomm Cologne 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 0.1th 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-2026-21375 is a memory corruption vulnerability classified under CWE-126, caused by accessing an output buffer without validating its size during IOCTL processing. It affects Qualcomm software components, as documented in the vendor's April 2026 security bulletin.

The vulnerability 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). A local attacker with low privileges can exploit it through low-complexity attacks requiring no user interaction, potentially resulting in high impacts to confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

Mitigation guidance is provided in the Qualcomm April 2026 security bulletin, available at https://docs.qualcomm.com/product/publicresources/securitybulletin/april-2026-bulletin.html.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Memory Corruption when accessing an output buffer without validating its size during IOCTL processing.

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.
T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access Credential Access
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to collect credentials.
T1552 Unsecured Credentials Credential Access
Adversaries may search compromised systems to find and obtain insecurely stored credentials.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-47390Same product: Qualcomm Cologne
CVE-2026-21378Same product: Qualcomm Cologne
CVE-2026-21373Same product: Qualcomm Cologne
CVE-2026-21374Same product: Qualcomm Cologne
CVE-2026-21376Same product: Qualcomm Cologne
CVE-2026-21371Same product: Qualcomm Cologne
CVE-2026-21379Same product: Qualcomm Cologne
CVE-2026-25288Same product: Qualcomm Cologne
CVE-2025-21421Same product: Qualcomm Fastconnect 6700
CVE-2026-21381Same product: Qualcomm Cologne

Affected Assets

qualcomm
cologne firmware
all versions
qualcomm
fastconnect 6700 firmware
all versions
qualcomm
fastconnect 6900 firmware
all versions
qualcomm
fastconnect 7800 firmware
all versions
qualcomm
qca0000 firmware
all versions
qualcomm
qcm5430 firmware
all versions
qualcomm
qcm6490 firmware
all versions
qualcomm
video collaboration vc3 platform firmware
all versions
qualcomm
sc8380xp firmware
all versions
qualcomm
snapdragon 460 mobile platform firmware
all versions
+25 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.

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