# CVE-2022-40521: Improper authorization in Modem

> An attacker can cause a transient denial of service in Qualcomm Snapdragon modems due to improper authorization checks.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 6 Jun 2023
- **Updated:** 3 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-8f4c-mxmx-gjgv

## What is CVE-2022-40521?

CVE-2022-40521 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Qualcomm 315 5g Iot Modem Firmware, published on 6 Jun 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Transient DOS due to improper authorization in Modem

Weakness: CWE-287 (Improper Authentication), CWE-285 (Improper Authorization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-40521?

It affects 242 products.


Products: Qualcomm 315 5g Iot Modem Firmware, Qualcomm 8953pro Firmware, Qualcomm 9205 Lte Modem Firmware, Qualcomm 9206 Lte Modem Firmware, Qualcomm 9207 Lte Modem Firmware, Qualcomm Apq5053-Aa Firmware, Qualcomm Apq8017 Firmware, Qualcomm Apq8037 Firmware, Qualcomm Apq8053-Aa Firmware, Qualcomm Apq8053-Ac Firmware, Qualcomm Aqt1000 Firmware, Qualcomm Ar6003 Firmware, Qualcomm Ar8035 Firmware, Qualcomm C-V2x 9150 Firmware, Qualcomm Csra6620 Firmware, Qualcomm Csra6640 Firmware, Qualcomm Csrb31024 Firmware, Qualcomm Mdm8207 Firmware, Qualcomm Mdm8215 Firmware, Qualcomm Mdm8215m Firmware and 222 more.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-40521?

No fix has been published for CVE-2022-40521 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2022-40521 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-40521 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Qualcomm 315 5g Iot Modem Firmware

- [CVE-2023-33107](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-33107/): Qualcomm Multiple Chipsets Integer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2023-33063](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-33063/): Qualcomm Multiple Chipsets Use-After-Free (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-27034](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-27034/): Improper Validation of Array Index in Multi-Mode Call Processor (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2023-22388](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-22388/): Use of Out-of-range Pointer Offset in Multi-mode Call Processor (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2023-28578](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-28578/): Improper Input Validation in Services (critical 9.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-40521 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-40521 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Qualcomm 315 5g Iot Modem Firmware, published on 6 Jun 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-40521 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Qualcomm 315 5g Iot Modem Firmware. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-40521/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-40521/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-40521
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-40521
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-40521

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-40521/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.