CVE-2021-1938
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets allows assertion failures due to improper verification during peer creation/deletion operations. It affects multiple Snapdragon product lines including Auto, Mobile, Compute, and IoT devices. Successful exploitation could lead to denial of service or potentially code execution.
💻 Affected Systems
- Snapdragon Auto
- Snapdragon Compute
- Snapdragon Connectivity
- Snapdragon Consumer Electronics Connectivity
- Snapdragon Consumer IOT
- Snapdragon Industrial IOT
- Snapdragon Mobile
- Snapdragon Voice & Music
- Snapdragon Wired Infrastructure and Networking
📦 What is this software?
Sd7c Firmware by Qualcomm
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Remote code execution leading to complete device compromise, data theft, or persistent backdoor installation
Likely Case
Denial of service causing device crashes, reboots, or instability in affected Snapdragon-based systems
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper network segmentation and security controls in place
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires specific conditions and knowledge of the peer management system. No public exploits available as of knowledge cutoff.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Refer to Qualcomm security bulletin for specific chipset/firmware versions
Vendor Advisory: https://www.qualcomm.com/company/product-security/bulletins/july-2021-bulletin
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Check Qualcomm security bulletin for affected chipset versions. 2. Contact device manufacturer for firmware updates. 3. Apply firmware patches provided by OEM. 4. Reboot device after patch installation.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Network segmentation
allIsolate affected devices from untrusted networks and limit peer connections
Access control restrictions
allImplement strict access controls to prevent unauthorized peer creation/deletion operations
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement network segmentation to isolate affected devices
- Monitor for abnormal peer creation/deletion activities and device crashes
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check device specifications for Snapdragon chipset and firmware version against Qualcomm advisoryCheck Version:
Device-specific commands vary by manufacturer (e.g., 'cat /proc/version' on Linux-based systems)Verify Fix Applied:
Verify firmware version has been updated to patched version from device manufacturer📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unexpected assertion failures
- Device crashes/reboots
- Abnormal peer management operations
Network Indicators:
- Unusual peer connection patterns
- Abnormal network traffic from affected devices
SIEM Query:
Device logs containing 'assertion failure' or 'peer' related errors from Snapdragon-based devices