CVE-2023-33081

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2023-33081?

CVE-2023-33081 has a CVSS score of 7.5 (HIGH). CVE-2023-33081 is a buffer overflow vulnerability in Qualcomm chipsets that occurs when processing Target Wake Time (TWT) frame parameters in over-the-air broadcasts. This vulnerability allows attackers to cause a denial-of-service condition by sending specially crafted TWT frames. Affected systems include devices using vulnerable Qualcomm wireless chipsets.

7.5 HIGH

Denial of Service Buffer Overflow

📋 TL;DR

CVE-2023-33081 is a buffer overflow vulnerability in Qualcomm chipsets that occurs when processing Target Wake Time (TWT) frame parameters in over-the-air broadcasts. This vulnerability allows attackers to cause a denial-of-service condition by sending specially crafted TWT frames. Affected systems include devices using vulnerable Qualcomm wireless chipsets.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Qualcomm wireless chipsets with TWT support

Versions: Specific chipset firmware versions as listed in Qualcomm advisories

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

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Affects devices with TWT feature enabled, which is common in modern Wi-Fi implementations for power saving.

📦 What is this software?

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Complete system crash requiring hardware reset, potentially disrupting critical wireless communications and causing extended downtime.

🟠

Likely Case

Temporary denial-of-service affecting wireless connectivity until system automatically recovers or is manually restarted.

🟢

If Mitigated

Minimal impact with proper network segmentation and monitoring detecting anomalous TWT frame patterns.

🌐 Internet-Facing: MEDIUM - Requires proximity to wireless network but can be exploited remotely via broadcast frames.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Internal attackers with wireless access could disrupt network operations.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ⚠️ Yes

Complexity: MEDIUM

Exploitation requires sending specially crafted TWT frames to vulnerable devices, which can be done without authentication.

🛠️ 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/december-2023-bulletin

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Check Qualcomm advisory for affected chipset models. 2. Obtain updated firmware from device manufacturer. 3. Apply firmware update following manufacturer instructions. 4. Reboot device to activate patch.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable TWT feature

linux

Disable Target Wake Time functionality to prevent processing of vulnerable frames

# Check current TWT status
iw dev wlan0 get twt
# Disable TWT
iw dev wlan0 set twt off

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Implement network segmentation to isolate vulnerable devices
Deploy wireless intrusion detection systems to monitor for anomalous TWT frame patterns

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check chipset firmware version against Qualcomm's affected versions list in the security bulletin

Check Version:

# Check Qualcomm chipset firmware version
cat /sys/class/net/wlan0/device/firmware_version

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify firmware version has been updated to patched version and test TWT functionality

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

System crashes or reboots following wireless frame processing
Kernel panic logs related to wireless drivers

Network Indicators:

Unusual TWT frame patterns or malformed TWT parameters in wireless traffic

SIEM Query:

wireless AND (TWT OR "Target Wake Time") AND (crash OR panic OR dos)

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2023-33081

CVSS v3 Score: 7.5 (HIGH)

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

CWE: CWE-126

Published: December 5, 2023

Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

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

📋 TL;DR

💻 Affected Systems

📦 What is this software?

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Immersive Home 216 Platform Firmware by Qualcomm

Immersive Home 316 Platform Firmware by Qualcomm

Immersive Home 318 Platform Firmware by Qualcomm

Immersive Home 3210 Platform Firmware by Qualcomm

Immersive Home 326 Platform Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq5010 Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq5028 Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq5332 Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq6000 Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq6010 Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq6018 Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq6028 Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq8070a Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq8071a Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq8072a Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq8074a Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq8076 Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq8076a Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq8078 Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq8078a Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq8173 Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq8174 Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq9008 Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq9554 Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq9570 Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq9574 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qam8255p Firmware by Qualcomm

Qam8650p Firmware by Qualcomm

Qam8775p Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca0000 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca1062 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca1064 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca4024 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

Qca6554a 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

Qca6797aq Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca8075 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca8081 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca8082 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca8084 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca8085 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca8337 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca8386 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca9888 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca9889 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcc2073 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcc2076 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcc710 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcf8000 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcf8001 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcm8550 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcn5022 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcn5024 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcn5052 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcn5122 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcn5124 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcn5152 Firmware by Qualcomm