CVE-2020-0011
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedIn get_auth_result of fpc_ta_hw_auth.c, there is a possible out of bounds write due to a missing bounds check. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with System execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android kernelAndroid ID: A-137648045References: N/A
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceA bounds check vulnerability in the Android kernel's fingerprint authentication module (fpc_ta_hw_auth.c). The get_auth_result function lacks proper bounds checking, allowing an out-of-bounds write that could enable local privilege escalation from System to root privileges without user interaction.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE dataall versionsCVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify fingerprint sensor hardware vendorCheck /sys/class/biometric or /proc/bus/input/devices for fingerprint sensor identifiers. Look for 'fpc' or 'Fingerprint Cards' in the output.Affected if The device uses FPC (Fingerprint Cards) fingerprint hardware - only FPC sensors contain the vulnerable fpc_ta_hw_auth.c module.
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Verify FPC kernel driver presenceCheck kernel configuration or loaded modules: grep -i fpc /proc/config.gz (if available) or lsmod | grep -i fpc. Also check /sys/kernel/debug/gpio for FPC sensor GPIO lines.Affected if The vulnerable code path only exists if the FPC fingerprint kernel driver is present and loaded.
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Confirm vulnerable source file existsIf kernel source is available, search for the affected file: find /path/to/kernel -name 'fpc_ta_hw_auth.c' 2>/dev/null. Check if get_auth_result function lacks bounds checking.Affected if The vulnerability is present only in kernels that include the fpc_ta_hw_auth.c source file with the unpatched get_auth_result function.
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Check kernel build configuration for FPC_TA moduleLook for CONFIG_FPC_TA or similar fingerprint Trusted Application kernel config options in /proc/config.gz or kernel build configuration files.Affected if If the FPC Trusted Application module is enabled in the kernel build, the attack surface is present.
The environment is affected if the Android device uses FPC fingerprint hardware and contains the unpatched fpc_ta_hw_auth.c module with the vulnerable get_auth_result function - which applies to all versions with this hardware configuration.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataApply a bounds check fix in the get_auth_result function of fpc_ta_hw_auth.c to validate buffer boundaries before writing. This requires kernel source modification and may need coordination with the fingerprint sensor hardware vendor (FPC).
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-0011 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-0011 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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