CVE-2023-33101

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2023-33101?

CVE-2023-33101 has a CVSS score of 7.5 (HIGH). This vulnerability allows attackers to cause a denial-of-service (DoS) condition in Qualcomm devices by sending specially crafted DL NAS TRANSPORT messages with zero payload length. It affects mobile devices and infrastructure equipment using vulnerable Qualcomm chipsets. The attack disrupts service availability but doesn't allow code execution or data theft.

7.5 HIGH

Denial of Service

📋 TL;DR

This vulnerability allows attackers to cause a denial-of-service (DoS) condition in Qualcomm devices by sending specially crafted DL NAS TRANSPORT messages with zero payload length. It affects mobile devices and infrastructure equipment using vulnerable Qualcomm chipsets. The attack disrupts service availability but doesn't allow code execution or data theft.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets
Qualcomm 5G modems
Devices using Qualcomm cellular components

Versions: Specific affected versions not publicly detailed; refer to Qualcomm April 2024 bulletin

Operating Systems: Android, Embedded systems with Qualcomm modems

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Affects devices with cellular connectivity using vulnerable Qualcomm components. Exact product list requires checking Qualcomm's security bulletin.

📦 What is this software?

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Complete service disruption on affected devices, requiring reboot to restore functionality. Could impact critical communications infrastructure if exploited at scale.

🟠

Likely Case

Temporary service interruption on individual devices, causing dropped calls or data sessions until system recovers automatically.

🟢

If Mitigated

Minimal impact with proper network segmentation and monitoring; isolated incidents quickly detected and contained.

🌐 Internet-Facing: MEDIUM - Requires network access to cellular infrastructure, but many devices are internet-connected through mobile networks.

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

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ⚠️ Yes

Complexity: MEDIUM

Exploitation requires sending malformed NAS messages to cellular interfaces. No public exploit code available as of analysis.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

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

Vendor Advisory: https://docs.qualcomm.com/product/publicresources/securitybulletin/april-2024-bulletin.html

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Check Qualcomm security bulletin for affected components. 2. Obtain firmware updates from device manufacturers. 3. Apply patches following manufacturer instructions. 4. Reboot affected devices after patching.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Network filtering

all

Implement network filtering to block malformed NAS messages at network perimeter

Rate limiting

all

Apply rate limiting on NAS message processing to mitigate DoS impact

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Segment cellular network components from untrusted networks
Implement monitoring for unusual NAS message patterns and DoS conditions

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check device firmware version against Qualcomm's security bulletin. Use manufacturer-specific diagnostic tools to verify cellular component versions.

Check Version:

Device-specific commands vary by manufacturer; typically 'adb shell getprop' for Android devices or manufacturer diagnostic tools

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify firmware version has been updated to patched version specified in Qualcomm bulletin. Test cellular functionality under normal conditions.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Unexpected device reboots
Cellular service interruptions
NAS protocol errors in network logs

Network Indicators:

Unusual volume of NAS TRANSPORT messages
Messages with zero payload length

SIEM Query:

source="cellular_gateway" AND (message="NAS error" OR message="service interruption")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2023-33101

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-704

Published: April 1, 2024

Last Updated: August 11, 2025

🔗 References

https://docs.qualcomm.com/product/publicresources/securitybulletin/april-2024-bulletin.html Vendor Advisory
https://docs.qualcomm.com/product/publicresources/securitybulletin/april-2024-bulletin.html 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

Qcm5430 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

Qcs5430 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