CVE-2021-30300 in Snapdragon Auto
Summary
by MITRE • 01/13/2022
Possible denial of service due to incorrectly decoding hex data for the SIB2 OTA message and assigning a garbage value to choice when processing the SRS configuration in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Voice & Music, Snapdragon Wearables
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/16/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2021-30300 represents a critical denial of service risk within Qualcomm's Snapdragon automotive and IoT product lines. This flaw manifests during the processing of SIB2 Over-The-Air (OTA) messages specifically when handling SRS (Sounding Reference Signal) configuration data. The issue stems from improper hex data decoding procedures that result in incorrect assignment of garbage values to choice parameters within the SRS configuration processing logic. The vulnerability affects multiple Snapdragon product categories including automotive systems, compute platforms, connectivity solutions, consumer IoT devices, industrial IoT applications, voice and music processing chips, and wearable technology.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in the inadequate validation and processing of hexadecimal data streams during OTA message handling within the Qualcomm modem firmware. When the system encounters SIB2 messages containing SRS configuration parameters, the decoding mechanism fails to properly validate incoming hex data, leading to corrupted memory states where choice variables receive invalid or random values. This garbage value assignment creates unpredictable behavior in the signal processing algorithms that depend on these configuration parameters. The flaw operates at the firmware level within the radio access network processing components, specifically impacting how the system interprets and applies SRS configuration settings during cellular communication protocols.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends across various automotive and IoT deployment scenarios where Snapdragon-based devices handle cellular communications. Attackers could potentially trigger denial of service conditions by transmitting specially crafted SIB2 OTA messages that exploit this decoding flaw, resulting in system crashes, communication failures, or complete device unavailability. In automotive applications, this could affect vehicle connectivity systems, telematics services, or infotainment platforms, potentially compromising safety-critical communication channels. The vulnerability's presence in both consumer and industrial IoT devices means that remote attackers could disrupt services across smart city infrastructure, industrial monitoring systems, or connected vehicle networks. The issue represents a significant risk to operational continuity and system reliability in mission-critical deployments.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on firmware updates from Qualcomm that address the hex data decoding logic and implement proper input validation for SRS configuration parameters. System administrators should prioritize applying the latest security patches released by Qualcomm and monitor for any additional firmware updates that address similar decoding vulnerabilities. Network operators should consider implementing monitoring protocols to detect anomalous SIB2 message patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-129, which addresses improper validation of input boundaries, and represents a variant of the broader category of buffer overflow and memory corruption vulnerabilities. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving privilege escalation and denial of service through firmware manipulation, potentially enabling adversaries to gain persistent access to automotive or IoT systems through communication channel disruption. Organizations should also implement network segmentation and access controls to limit potential exploitation vectors while maintaining comprehensive logging of OTA message processing activities for security monitoring purposes.