CVE-2022-40523

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2022-40523?

CVE-2022-40523 has a CVSS score of 7.1 (HIGH). This vulnerability allows attackers to exploit indirect branch misprediction in Qualcomm chipsets to leak sensitive information from the kernel memory. It affects devices using vulnerable Qualcomm Snapdragon processors, potentially exposing cryptographic keys, passwords, or other protected data.

7.1 HIGH

📋 TL;DR

This vulnerability allows attackers to exploit indirect branch misprediction in Qualcomm chipsets to leak sensitive information from the kernel memory. It affects devices using vulnerable Qualcomm Snapdragon processors, potentially exposing cryptographic keys, passwords, or other protected data.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Qualcomm Snapdragon processors
Devices using affected Qualcomm chipsets

Versions: Multiple Snapdragon chipset versions prior to June 2023 patches

Operating Systems: Android, Linux-based systems using affected chipsets

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Affects devices with vulnerable Qualcomm hardware, primarily mobile devices and embedded systems.

📦 What is this software?

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Complete kernel memory disclosure leading to privilege escalation, credential theft, and full system compromise.

🟠

Likely Case

Information leakage of sensitive kernel data including cryptographic keys or process memory.

🟢

If Mitigated

Limited information disclosure with proper kernel address space layout randomization (KASLR) and other exploit mitigations.

🌐 Internet-Facing: MEDIUM - Requires local access but could be combined with other vulnerabilities for remote exploitation.

🏢 Internal Only: HIGH - Local attackers or malicious applications can exploit this to gain elevated privileges.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: HIGH

Exploitation requires local access and sophisticated timing attacks leveraging CPU microarchitectural features.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: June 2023 security updates and later

Vendor Advisory: https://www.qualcomm.com/company/product-security/bulletins/june-2023-bulletin

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Check device manufacturer for available updates. 2. Apply June 2023 or later security patches. 3. Reboot device after patching.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable speculative execution features

linux

Mitigate branch prediction attacks by disabling vulnerable CPU features

echo 1 > /sys/devices/system/cpu/vulnerabilities/spectre_v2

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Restrict local user access and application privileges
Implement strict application sandboxing and SELinux/AppArmor policies

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check kernel version and chipset against Qualcomm's advisory. Use 'cat /proc/cpuinfo' to identify processor.

Check Version:

getprop ro.build.version.security_patch

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify security patch level is June 2023 or later. Check for applied microcode updates.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Unusual kernel memory access patterns
Failed privilege escalation attempts

Network Indicators:

None - local exploitation only

SIEM Query:

Process execution with unusual memory access patterns OR failed privilege escalation from untrusted applications

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2022-40523

CVSS v3 Score: 7.1 (HIGH)

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

CWE: CWE-200

Published: June 6, 2023

Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

https://www.qualcomm.com/company/product-security/bulletins/june-2023-bulletin Vendor Advisory
https://www.qualcomm.com/company/product-security/bulletins/june-2023-bulletin Vendor Advisory

📋 TL;DR

💻 Affected Systems

📦 What is this software?

9205 Lte Modem Firmware by Qualcomm

Aqt1000 Firmware by Qualcomm

Ar8031 Firmware by Qualcomm

Ar8035 Firmware by Qualcomm

Csra6620 Firmware by Qualcomm

Csra6640 Firmware by Qualcomm

Flight Rb5 5g Platform Firmware by Qualcomm

Qam8255p Firmware by Qualcomm

Qam8295p Firmware by Qualcomm

Qam8650p Firmware by Qualcomm

Qam8775p Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca4004 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6174a Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6310 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6335 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6390 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6391 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6420 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6421 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6426 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6430 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6431 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6436 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6564a Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6564au Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6574 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6574a Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6574au Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6595 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6595au Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6696 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6698aq Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6797aq Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca8081 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca8337 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca9377 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca9984 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcm2290 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcm4290 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcm4490 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcm6490 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcn6024 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcn7606 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcn9011 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcn9012 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcn9024 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcs2290 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcs410 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcs4290 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcs4490 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcs610 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcs6490 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcs8250 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcs8550 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qrb5165 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qrb5165m Firmware by Qualcomm

Qrb5165n Firmware by Qualcomm

Qsm8250 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qsm8350 Firmware by Qualcomm

Robotics Rb3 Platform Firmware by Qualcomm

Sa6145p Firmware by Qualcomm

Sa6155 Firmware by Qualcomm

Sa6155p Firmware by Qualcomm

Sa8150p Firmware by Qualcomm

Sa8155 Firmware by Qualcomm

Sa8155p Firmware by Qualcomm

Sa8255p Firmware by Qualcomm

Sa8295p Firmware by Qualcomm

Sa8540p Firmware by Qualcomm

Sa9000p Firmware by Qualcomm

Sc7180 Ac Firmware by Qualcomm

Sc7180 Ad Firmware by Qualcomm

Sc8180x Aa Firmware by Qualcomm

Sc8180x Ab Firmware by Qualcomm

Sc8180x Ac Firmware by Qualcomm

Sc8180x Ad Firmware by Qualcomm

Sc8180x Af Firmware by Qualcomm