Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-35080 is an information disclosure issue in Qualcomm Snapdragon components used in some mobile, wearable, and industrial IoT devices. The reported impact is confidentiality loss, not integrity or availability loss. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access, so urgency is highest where untrusted apps, shared devices, or unmanaged endpoints are present.
Executive priority
Handle as a moderate-priority firmware governance issue. It is not documented as actively exploited in the provided sources, but it can expose sensitive information on affected devices after local access. Prioritize environments with unmanaged apps, shared devices, or industrial IoT deployments.
Technical view
The flaw involves disabling SMMU from the secure side while RPM is assigned a secure stream, which can expose information. CVSS 3.1 is 6.5 with local attack vector, low complexity, low privileges, no user interaction, changed scope, and high confidentiality impact. Qualcomm lists multiple QCM, QCS, SD, SM, SW, WCD, WCN, and WSA parts.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to devices using the Qualcomm parts named in the advisory. Practical identification usually requires OEM device mapping, firmware inventories, mobile device management data, or supplier confirmation because the CVE record does not provide CPEs or specific end-user device models.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. The CVSS vector indicates an attacker needs local low-privileged access and no user interaction. Treat this as a post-access confidentiality risk, especially on devices that can run untrusted local code.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to the CVE record and Qualcomm bulletin reference. No CWE, CPE list, exploit status, or end-user model mapping is provided. Validation should focus on chipset-to-device correlation and OEM patch adoption rather than generic operating-system version checks.
Mitigation direction
- Check Qualcomm and OEM guidance for firmware containing the May 2022 security bulletin fixes.
- Inventory managed devices for the listed Qualcomm chipsets and OEM patch status.
- Prioritize updates for shared, unmanaged, BYOD, IoT, and field-deployed devices.
- Restrict installation of untrusted apps on potentially affected mobile and wearable devices.
- Ask vendors for affected-model mapping where chipset visibility is incomplete.
Validation and detection
- Map device models to Qualcomm chipsets listed in the CVE record.
- Verify OEM firmware or security patch level against Qualcomm May 2022 bulletin guidance.
- Review MDM, EMM, or asset inventory for outdated affected devices.
- Confirm no affected industrial IoT assets remain on unsupported firmware.
- Document vendor responses where direct chipset verification is not possible.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CVE-2021-35080 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 6.5 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N24Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
6.5MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.qualcomm.com/company/product-security/bulletins/may-2022-bulletinCVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.