CVE-2023-33095

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2023-33095?

CVE-2023-33095 has a CVSS score of 7.5 (HIGH). This vulnerability in Qualcomm's NR (New Radio) DL NAS transport OTA processing allows an attacker to cause a denial-of-service (DoS) by sending specially crafted payload containers with incorrect length values. It affects mobile devices and infrastructure equipment using vulnerable Qualcomm chipsets, potentially disrupting cellular network connectivity.

7.5 HIGH

Denial of Service

📋 TL;DR

This vulnerability in Qualcomm's NR (New Radio) DL NAS transport OTA processing allows an attacker to cause a denial-of-service (DoS) by sending specially crafted payload containers with incorrect length values. It affects mobile devices and infrastructure equipment using vulnerable Qualcomm chipsets, potentially disrupting cellular network connectivity.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Qualcomm chipsets with NR (5G) capabilities
Mobile devices using affected Qualcomm chipsets
5G network infrastructure equipment

Versions: Specific affected versions not publicly detailed; refer to Qualcomm March 2024 bulletin for chipset-specific information

Operating Systems: Android, Embedded systems using Qualcomm chipsets

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Vulnerability is in the baseband/firmware layer, affecting devices regardless of OS version if using vulnerable Qualcomm chipsets.

📦 What is this software?

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Complete disruption of cellular connectivity for affected devices, potentially affecting emergency services and critical communications in targeted areas.

🟠

Likely Case

Temporary service disruption for individual devices or small groups, requiring device reboot or network reconnection to restore functionality.

🟢

If Mitigated

Minimal impact with proper network segmentation and monitoring, though some service degradation may still occur during attack attempts.

🌐 Internet-Facing: MEDIUM - Attack requires proximity to target or ability to send malicious OTA messages through cellular network infrastructure.

🏢 Internal Only: LOW - Primarily affects cellular network interfaces rather than internal enterprise networks.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ⚠️ Yes

Complexity: MEDIUM

Exploitation requires ability to send malicious OTA messages, which typically requires cellular network access or proximity to target.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Refer to Qualcomm March 2024 security bulletin for chipset-specific patches

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

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Check device manufacturer for firmware updates
2. Apply Qualcomm-provided patches through OEM firmware updates
3. Reboot device after update installation
4. Verify patch application through version checks

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Network monitoring and filtering

all

Monitor for abnormal OTA message patterns and implement filtering at network level

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Implement network segmentation to isolate vulnerable devices
Monitor for DoS patterns and implement rate limiting on OTA message processing

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check device firmware version against Qualcomm security bulletin; vulnerability is chipset-level so device-specific checks required

Check Version:

Device-specific commands vary by manufacturer; typically in Settings > About Phone > Baseband version

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify firmware version has been updated to patched version specified in Qualcomm bulletin

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Multiple failed OTA message processing attempts
Baseband processor crashes or resets
Abnormal DL NAS transport message patterns

Network Indicators:

Unusual OTA message traffic patterns
Multiple devices experiencing simultaneous connectivity loss

SIEM Query:

Search for baseband error logs containing 'DL NAS transport' or 'OTA processing failure' patterns

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2023-33095

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-617

Published: March 4, 2024

Last Updated: August 11, 2025

🔗 References

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

📋 TL;DR

💻 Affected Systems

📦 What is this software?

315 5g Iot Modem Firmware by Qualcomm

Ar8035 Firmware by Qualcomm

Fastconnect 6200 Firmware by Qualcomm

Fastconnect 6700 Firmware by Qualcomm

Fastconnect 6800 Firmware by Qualcomm

Fastconnect 6900 Firmware by Qualcomm

Fastconnect 7800 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6174a Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6391 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6421 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6426 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6431 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6436 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6574a Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6584au Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6595au Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6696 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6698aq Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca8081 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca8337 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcc710 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcm4490 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcm6490 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcm8550 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcn6024 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcn6224 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcn6274 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcn9024 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcs4490 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcs6490 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qcs8550 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qep8111 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qfw7114 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qfw7124 Firmware by Qualcomm

Sd855 Firmware by Qualcomm

Sd865 5g Firmware by Qualcomm

Sd888 Firmware by Qualcomm

Sdx55 Firmware by Qualcomm

Sdx57m Firmware by Qualcomm

Sg8275p Firmware by Qualcomm

Sm7250p Firmware by Qualcomm

Sm7315 Firmware by Qualcomm

Sm7325p Firmware by Qualcomm

Sm8550p Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 Mobile Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 Mobile Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon 480 5g Mobile Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon 480 5g Mobile Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon 690 5g Mobile Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon 695 5g Mobile Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon 750g 5g Mobile Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon 765 5g Mobile Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon 765g 5g Mobile Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon 768g 5g Mobile Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon 778g 5g Mobile Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon 778g 5g Mobile Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon 780g 5g Mobile Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon 782g Mobile Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon 7c\+ Gen 3 Compute Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Mobile Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Mobile Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Mobile Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon 855 Mobile Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon 855 Mobile Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon 860 Mobile Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon 865 5g Mobile Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon 865 5g Mobile Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon 870 5g Mobile Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon 888 5g Mobile Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon 888 5g Mobile Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon Auto 5g Modem Rf Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon Auto 5g Modem Rf Gen 2 Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon X35 5g Modem Rf Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon X55 5g Modem Rf Firmware by Qualcomm

Snapdragon X65 5g Modem Rf Firmware by Qualcomm