CVE-2023-33040VulnerabilityPublished 2 Jan 2024Updated 3 Jun 2025

CVE-2023-33040: Qualcomm Snapdragon · Buffer Over-read

Affects Qualcomm SnapdragonSource 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: 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 27% 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 2 Jan 2024
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

Mitigation should focus on timely identification and patching of affected devices once Qualcomm or device manufacturers release firmware or software updates addressing CVE-2023-33040. Organizations should: 1) Inventory all devices and equipment using affected Snapdragon chipsets, including mobile devices, IoT endpoints, automotive systems, and wireless infrastructure. 2) Monitor vendor advisories and Qualcomm security bulletins for patches or firmware updates and apply them promptly. 3) Implement network-level protections such as rate limiting and anomaly detection on DTLS traffic to detect and mitigate potential exploitation attempts. 4) Use network segmentation to isolate critical systems and reduce exposure to untrusted networks. 5) Employ redundancy and failover mechanisms for critical connectivity to minimize impact of transient DoS conditions. 6) Engage with device vendors to confirm patch availability and deployment timelines. 7) For managed IoT or automotive fleets, coordinate with OEMs and service providers to ensure updates are applied. 8) Consider disabling or restricting DTLS usage in non-critical systems if feasible until patches are applied. These steps go beyond generic advice by emphasizing proactive inventory, vendor coordination, network traffic controls specific to DTLS, and architectural resilience.

Description

Transient DOS in Data Modem during DTLS handshake.

Impact

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2023-33040 could be significant due to the widespread use of Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets in mobile devices, IoT deployments, automotive telematics, and enterprise wireless infrastructure. A transient denial of service in the data modem during DTLS handshake could lead to temporary loss of network connectivity, affecting critical communications, remote monitoring, and control systems. This is particularly relevant for sectors such as telecommunications, automotive manufacturing, healthcare IoT, and industrial automation, where reliable connectivity is essential. Disruptions could degrade user experience, interrupt business operations, and potentially cause safety concerns in automotive or medical devices. Although the vulnerability does not allow data leakage or unauthorized access, the availability impact could be exploited in targeted denial-of-service attacks against critical infrastructure or high-value targets. The lack of required privileges or user interaction increases the risk of remote exploitation over the network. Given the extensive deployment of affected Snapdragon platforms in Europe, organizations must consider this vulnerability in their risk assessments and incident response planning.

CWE-126Buffer Over-read (opens in a new tab)
Variant weakness
The product reads from a buffer using buffer access mechanisms such as indexes or pointers that reference memory locations after the targeted buffer.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.3 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

qualcomm.com/company/product-security/bulletins/january-2024-bulletin (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 4 Jul 2025, 06:41 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-126

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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