CVE-2023-28554 in 8 Gen 1 Mobile Platform
Summary
by MITRE • 11/07/2023
Information Disclosure in Qualcomm IPC while reading values from shared memory in VM.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/07/2025
This vulnerability resides in Qualcomm's Inter-Processor Communication (IPC) framework which facilitates data exchange between different processing units within mobile devices and embedded systems. The issue manifests when the system attempts to read values from shared memory regions that are accessed by virtual machines, creating an information disclosure scenario that could potentially expose sensitive data. The flaw occurs specifically during the memory reading operations within the virtualized environment where proper access controls and memory isolation mechanisms fail to prevent unauthorized data retrieval.
The technical root cause stems from inadequate validation of memory access permissions when reading shared memory segments in virtual machine contexts. This allows for potential information leakage through improper memory management protocols that should enforce strict access boundaries between different virtualized processing environments. The vulnerability represents a classic case of insufficient privilege checking and memory protection mechanisms, which can be categorized under CWE-200 Information Exposure and CWE-284 Improper Access Control. The flaw essentially creates a pathway for unauthorized data reading that bypasses normal security boundaries established by the virtualization layer.
Operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure as it potentially enables attackers to extract sensitive data that could include system configuration details, user information, or other confidential parameters stored in shared memory regions. The implications are particularly severe in mobile device environments where Qualcomm's IPC is extensively used for communication between application processors, modem processors, and other system components. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to gain insights into system architecture, potentially facilitating more sophisticated attacks such as privilege escalation or lateral movement within the device's security boundaries. This aligns with ATT&CK technique T1082 System Information Discovery and T1552 Unsecured Credentials, as the vulnerability enables unauthorized access to system data that could be used for further exploitation.
Mitigation strategies should focus on implementing stricter memory access controls and enhancing the validation mechanisms within the IPC framework. System administrators and device manufacturers should ensure that all shared memory access operations undergo proper authorization checks and that virtual machine isolation boundaries are properly enforced. Updates to the Qualcomm firmware and system software should be applied immediately to address the vulnerability, as the flaw exists in the core communication infrastructure that is fundamental to device operation. Additionally, network monitoring solutions should be enhanced to detect anomalous memory access patterns that could indicate exploitation attempts. The remediation process should include thorough code reviews of memory management functions and implementation of proper access control lists that prevent unauthorized virtual machine access to sensitive shared memory regions. Organizations should also consider implementing memory integrity checking mechanisms and regular security assessments to identify similar vulnerabilities in other system components that rely on shared memory architectures.