Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This is a critical Qualcomm Snapdragon Wi-Fi related flaw. During an IBSS session, a malformed SSID length in beacon or probe response data may trigger a buffer overflow. Successful exploitation could affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability on devices using affected Qualcomm components.
Executive priority
Treat this as a high-priority supply-chain firmware issue. The broad Qualcomm product coverage and critical CVSS score justify urgent inventory and vendor confirmation, especially for mobile, automotive, IoT, and embedded fleets.
Technical view
CVE-2021-35081 is improper SSID length validation during beacon or probe response handling in IBSS sessions. Qualcomm lists many Snapdragon Auto, Compute, Connectivity, Consumer Electronics, Industrial IoT, Mobile, and Voice & Music products. CVSS 3.1 is 9.8 with network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges, and no user interaction.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely in products, vehicles, IoT systems, phones, embedded devices, or compute platforms containing the listed Qualcomm chipsets or modules. Real exposure depends on OEM firmware, driver integration, and whether vulnerable IBSS-related handling is present.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. The severity is high because the CVSS vector indicates remote network reachability, low attack complexity, no privileges, and no user interaction, but the bundle does not provide exploit details or confirmed exploitation.
Researcher notes
The bundle identifies a possible buffer overflow tied to SSID length validation in IBSS beacon or probe response processing. It does not include CWE mapping, exploit proof, patch mechanics, or per-OEM firmware status, so validation should focus on chipset presence and vendor bulletin alignment.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory devices and products using the listed Qualcomm chipsets or modules.
- Check Qualcomm’s April 2022 bulletin and OEM advisories for affected firmware status.
- Apply OEM or vendor-supplied firmware and platform security updates.
- Ask suppliers to confirm whether their builds include the Qualcomm fix.
- Document unsupported affected assets and compensating control decisions.
Validation and detection
- Compare hardware BOMs against the affected Qualcomm product list.
- Verify OEM firmware or security patch levels against vendor guidance.
- Confirm whether deployed products support or use IBSS-related Wi-Fi behavior.
- Track remediation evidence from device vendors or product owners.
- Reassess exposure after firmware updates or hardware replacement.
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-2021-35081 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
- Critical
- CVSS
- 9.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H3.95.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
9.8CriticalVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.qualcomm.com/company/product-security/bulletins/april-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.