CVE-2023-28537

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2023-28537?

CVE-2023-28537 has a CVSS score of 8.4 (HIGH). This vulnerability allows memory corruption in Qualcomm's audio processing module (COmxApeDec) due to integer overflow during memory allocation. Attackers could potentially execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service on affected devices. This affects Android devices using Qualcomm chipsets with vulnerable audio components.

8.4 HIGH

📋 TL;DR

This vulnerability allows memory corruption in Qualcomm's audio processing module (COmxApeDec) due to integer overflow during memory allocation. Attackers could potentially execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service on affected devices. This affects Android devices using Qualcomm chipsets with vulnerable audio components.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Android devices with Qualcomm chipsets

Versions: Multiple Qualcomm chipset versions (specifics in vendor advisory)

Operating Systems: Android

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Affects devices using Qualcomm's audio processing framework. Vulnerability is in the COmxApeDec module handling APE audio format.

📦 What is this software?

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Remote code execution leading to complete device compromise, data theft, or persistent malware installation.

🟠

Likely Case

Application crashes or denial of service affecting audio functionality, potentially requiring device restart.

🟢

If Mitigated

Controlled crashes without privilege escalation if proper sandboxing and memory protections are enforced.

🌐 Internet-Facing: MEDIUM - Requires user interaction (playing malicious audio) but could be delivered via web content or messaging apps.

🏢 Internal Only: LOW - Primarily affects client devices rather than internal infrastructure.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: MEDIUM

Requires user to play specially crafted APE audio file. No public exploits known as of August 2023.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Refer to Qualcomm August 2023 security bulletin for specific chipset patches

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

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Check Qualcomm advisory for your specific chipset. 2. Apply firmware update from device manufacturer. 3. Reboot device after update. 4. Verify patch installation.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable APE audio processing

android

Prevent processing of APE audio files to block attack vector

Use audio player with custom codec

android

Use third-party audio players that don't rely on vulnerable system components

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Restrict audio file sources to trusted applications only
Implement application sandboxing to limit impact of potential exploitation

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check device chipset and firmware version against Qualcomm's August 2023 security bulletin

Check Version:

adb shell getprop ro.build.fingerprint (for Android devices)

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify firmware version has been updated to include August 2023 Qualcomm security patches

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Audio service crashes
COmxApeDec process failures
Memory allocation errors in audio subsystem

Network Indicators:

Unusual audio file downloads
APE files from untrusted sources

SIEM Query:

process_name:"mediaserver" AND (event_type:crash OR error_code:memory_corruption)

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2023-28537

CVSS v3 Score: 8.4 (HIGH)

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

CWE: CWE-190

Published: August 8, 2023

Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

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

📋 TL;DR

💻 Affected Systems

📦 What is this software?

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8998 Firmware by Qualcomm

Apq5053 Aa Firmware by Qualcomm

Apq8009 Firmware by Qualcomm

Apq8017 Firmware by Qualcomm

Apq8053 Aa Firmware by Qualcomm

Apq8053 Ac Firmware by Qualcomm

Aqt1000 Firmware by Qualcomm

Ar8031 Firmware by Qualcomm

Ar8035 Firmware by Qualcomm

Csra6620 Firmware by Qualcomm

Csra6640 Firmware by Qualcomm

Csrb31024 Firmware by Qualcomm

Flight Rb5 5g Platform Firmware by Qualcomm

Mdm9628 Firmware by Qualcomm

Msm8108 Firmware by Qualcomm

Msm8208 Firmware by Qualcomm

Msm8209 Firmware by Qualcomm

Msm8608 Firmware by Qualcomm

Msm8917 Firmware by Qualcomm

Msm8996au Firmware by Qualcomm

Qam8295p Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca4020 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca4024 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6174a Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6310 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6320 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

Qca6564 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6564a Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6564au Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6574 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6574a Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6574au Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6584au Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6595 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6595au Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6696 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6698aq Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca8081 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca8337 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca9377 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca9379 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcm2290 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcm4290 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcm6125 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcm6490 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcn9011 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcn9012 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcn9074 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcs2290 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcs410 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcs4290 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcs603 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcs605 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcs610 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcs6125 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcs6490 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qm215 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qrb5165 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qrb5165m Firmware by Qualcomm

Qrb5165n Firmware by Qualcomm

Qsm8250 Firmware by Qualcomm

S820a Firmware by Qualcomm

Sa4150p Firmware by Qualcomm

Sa4155p Firmware by Qualcomm

Sa6145p Firmware by Qualcomm

Sa6150p Firmware by Qualcomm