CVE-2023-33036

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2023-33036?

CVE-2023-33036 has a CVSS score of 7.1 (HIGH). This vulnerability allows an untrusted virtual machine without Power State Coordination Interface (PSCI) support to make a PSCI call, causing a permanent denial-of-service condition in the hypervisor. It affects Qualcomm hypervisor implementations on affected chipsets. Systems using vulnerable Qualcomm hardware with virtualization features enabled are at risk.

7.1 HIGH

Denial of Service

📋 TL;DR

This vulnerability allows an untrusted virtual machine without Power State Coordination Interface (PSCI) support to make a PSCI call, causing a permanent denial-of-service condition in the hypervisor. It affects Qualcomm hypervisor implementations on affected chipsets. Systems using vulnerable Qualcomm hardware with virtualization features enabled are at risk.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Qualcomm hypervisor implementations

Versions: Specific versions not publicly detailed in bulletin

Operating Systems: Android, Linux, and other OS using Qualcomm virtualization

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Requires hypervisor with virtualization enabled and untrusted VM access. Affects various Qualcomm chipsets mentioned in January 2024 bulletin.

📦 What is this software?

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Permanent hypervisor crash leading to complete system failure requiring physical reboot, affecting all VMs and services running on the host.

🟠

Likely Case

Hypervisor instability causing service disruption to virtual machines, potentially requiring host restart.

🟢

If Mitigated

Limited impact if untrusted VMs are isolated or PSCI access is restricted through proper hypervisor configuration.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW (requires local VM access, not directly exploitable over network)

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM (requires compromised or malicious VM on same host)

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: MEDIUM

Requires ability to run untrusted VM code. No public exploit details available.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Refer to January 2024 Qualcomm security bulletin for specific patched versions

Vendor Advisory: https://www.qualcomm.com/company/product-security/bulletins/january-2024-bulletin

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Check Qualcomm January 2024 security bulletin for affected chipsets. 2. Obtain firmware/software updates from device manufacturer. 3. Apply patches according to manufacturer instructions. 4. Reboot system after patching.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Restrict VM PSCI Access

all

Configure hypervisor to restrict PSCI calls from untrusted VMs

Configuration varies by hypervisor implementation - consult vendor documentation

Isolate Untrusted VMs

all

Run untrusted VMs on separate physical hardware or with restricted privileges

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Isolate critical VMs from potentially untrusted VMs on separate physical hosts
Implement strict VM privilege separation and monitor for abnormal hypervisor behavior

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check Qualcomm chipset version and hypervisor implementation against January 2024 bulletin

Check Version:

System-specific commands vary by device manufacturer - check device documentation

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify firmware/software version matches patched versions in Qualcomm bulletin

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Hypervisor crash logs
Unexpected PSCI call attempts from VMs
System reboot events

Network Indicators:

Not network exploitable - local hypervisor event

SIEM Query:

Search for hypervisor crash events or unexpected VM privilege escalation attempts

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2023-33036

CVSS v3 Score: 7.1 (HIGH)

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

CWE: CWE-476

Published: January 2, 2024

Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

https://www.qualcomm.com/company/product-security/bulletins/january-2024-bulletin Vendor Advisory
https://www.qualcomm.com/company/product-security/bulletins/january-2024-bulletin Vendor Advisory

📋 TL;DR

💻 Affected Systems

📦 What is this software?

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Qca6421 Firmware by Qualcomm

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Qca6574 Firmware by Qualcomm

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Qca6595 Firmware by Qualcomm

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Qca6696 Firmware by Qualcomm

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Qca8081 Firmware by Qualcomm

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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

Sd 675 Firmware by Qualcomm

Sd 8 Gen1 5g Firmware by Qualcomm

Sd 8cx Firmware by Qualcomm

Sd670 Firmware by Qualcomm

Sd675 Firmware by Qualcomm

Sd855 Firmware by Qualcomm

Sd865 5g Firmware by Qualcomm

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Sm7250p Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon 670 Mobile Platform Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon 675 Mobile Platform Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon 678 Mobile Platform Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon 765 5g Mobile Platform Firmware by Qualcomm

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Snapdragon 768g 5g Mobile Platform Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Mobile Platform Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon 845 Mobile Platform Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon 850 Mobile Compute Platform Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon 855 Mobile Platform Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon 855\+\/860 Mobile Platform Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon 865 5g Mobile Platform Firmware by Qualcomm

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Snapdragon 888 5g Mobile Platform Firmware by Qualcomm

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Snapdragon 8c Compute Platform Firmware by Qualcomm

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Snapdragon 8cx Compute Platform Firmware by Qualcomm

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Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 5g Compute Platform Firmware by Qualcomm