CVE-2023-32843VulnerabilityPublished 4 Dec 2023Updated 29 May 2025

CVE-2023-32843: MediaTek MT2735, MT2737, MT6297, MT6298, MT6813, MT6815, MT6833, MT6835, MT6853, MT6855, MT6873, MT6875, MT6875T, MT6877, MT6879, MT6880, MT6883, MT6885, MT6886, MT6889, MT6890, MT6891, MT6893, MT6895, MT6895T, MT6896, MT6897, MT6980, MT6980D, MT6983, MT6985, MT6989, MT6990 · Denial of Service

Affects MediaTek MT2735, MT2737, MT6297, MT6298, MT6813, MT6815, MT6833, MT6835, MT6853, MT6855, MT6873, MT6875, MT6875T, MT6877, MT6879, MT6880, MT6883, MT6885, MT6886, MT6889, MT6890, MT6891, MT6893, MT6895, MT6895T, MT6896, MT6897, MT6980, MT6980D, MT6983, MT6985, MT6989, MT6990Source CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.5 High.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.5High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 1.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 71% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: None
Availability: High

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 4 Dec 2023
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-25.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2023-32843 effectively, European organizations and device manufacturers should: 1) Monitor MediaTek and device vendor advisories closely for the release of official firmware patches (MOLY01130204) addressing this vulnerability and prioritize timely deployment across all affected devices. 2) Implement network-level filtering to detect and block malformed or suspicious RRC messages where possible, using advanced intrusion detection/prevention systems tailored for 5G network traffic. 3) Employ network segmentation and isolate critical 5G-connected systems to limit the blast radius of potential DoS attacks. 4) Collaborate with mobile network operators to monitor for anomalous signaling traffic patterns indicative of exploitation attempts targeting MediaTek modems. 5) For managed IoT deployments, enforce strict device update policies and maintain an inventory of devices using affected chipsets to ensure comprehensive patch coverage. 6) Conduct regular security assessments and penetration tests simulating malformed RRC message attacks to validate the effectiveness of mitigations. 7) Educate security teams on the specifics of this vulnerability to enhance detection and incident response capabilities. These measures go beyond generic advice by focusing on proactive patch management, network-level defenses specific to 5G signaling, and operational controls tailored to the affected modem technology.

Description

In 5G Modem, there is a possible system crash due to improper error handling. This could lead to remote denial of service when receiving malformed RRC messages, with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Patch ID: MOLY01130204; Issue ID: MOLY01130204 (MSV-849).

Impact

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2023-32843 can be substantial, especially for sectors relying heavily on 5G connectivity such as telecommunications providers, critical infrastructure, manufacturing with IoT deployments, and emergency services. A successful DoS attack could disrupt cellular network access on devices using vulnerable MediaTek modems, leading to communication outages, degraded operational capabilities, and potential safety risks. Enterprises deploying 5G-enabled devices for remote monitoring, control systems, or mobile workforce connectivity may experience interruptions affecting business continuity. Additionally, consumer devices with these modems could be targeted to cause widespread service degradation, indirectly impacting service providers and their customers. Given the remote and unauthenticated nature of the exploit, attackers could launch large-scale denial of service campaigns without needing physical access or user interaction, increasing the threat surface. The vulnerability may also be leveraged as part of multi-stage attacks to create distractions or degrade network availability during other malicious activities. The absence of known exploits in the wild currently reduces immediate risk, but the high severity and ease of exploitation necessitate proactive mitigation to prevent future incidents.

CWE-617Reachable Assertion (opens in a new tab)
Base weakness
The product contains an assert() or similar statement that can be triggered by an attacker, which leads to an application exit or other behavior that is more severe than necessary.
Implementation
Make sensitive open/close operation non reachable by directly user-controlled data (e.g. open/close resources)
Implementation · Input Validation
Perform input validation on user data.
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

corp.mediatek.com/product-security-bulletin/December-2023 (opens in a new tab)

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 8 Jul 2025, 02:41 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-617

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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