CVE-2021-1901

Boot interruption via unchecked meta image length

Published Jul 13, 2021 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

Buffer over-read in Qualcomm Snapdragon boot firmware allows physically proximate attackers to interrupt startup via a crafted meta image. The boot image-flashing path reads metadata beyond its supplied buffer because it does not verify the metadata length before processing it. Physical access to initiate flashing is required, and the published impact is limited to device availability rather than data disclosure or modification.

CVSS severity4.6
Medium
EPSS probability0.14%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Buffer over-read in Qualcomm Snapdragon boot firmware allows physically proximate attackers to interrupt startup via a crafted meta image. The boot image-flashing path reads metadata beyond its supplied buffer because it does not verify the metadata length before processing it. Physical access to initiate flashing is required, and the published impact is limited to device availability rather than data disclosure or modification.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-1901
Published
Jul 13, 2021
Updated
Aug 3, 2024
Vendor
Qualcomm
Product
Snapdragon
Classifications
CWE-125, T1499
Attack vector
physical
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jul 13, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 3, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=APQ8009, APQ8053, AQT1000, MDM9206, QCA6420, QCA6430, QCA9367, QCA9377, Qualcomm215, SD 675, SD205, SD210, SD675, SD678, SD720G, SD730, SD855, SDA429W, SDX50M, SDX55, SDX55M, SM6250, WCD9326, WCD9330, WCD9340, WCD9341, WCD9370, WCD9375, WCD9380, WCN3610, WCN3615, WCN3620, WCN3660B, WCN3680, WCN3680B, WCN3950, WCN3980, WCN3988, WCN3991, WCN3998, WSA8810, WSA8815

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorphysical
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Qualcomm · Snapdragonversion=APQ8009, APQ8053, AQT1000, MDM9206, QCA6420, QCA6430, QCA9367, QCA9377, Qualcomm215, SD 675, SD205, SD210, SD675, SD678, SD720G, SD730, SD855, SDA429W, SDX50M, SDX55, SDX55M, SM6250, WCD9326, WCD9330, WCD9340, WCD9341, WCD9370, WCD9375, WCD9380, WCN3610, WCN3615, WCN3620, WCN3660B, WCN3680, WCN3680B, WCN3950, WCN3980, WCN3988, WCN3991, WCN3998, WSA8810, WSA8815

Published CVSS scores

2.1NIST NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P
4.6Qualcomm, Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorphysical
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-125Out-of-bounds Read
T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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