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Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian

CVE-2020-0034

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-03-10
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
In vp8_decode_frame of decodeframe.c, there is a possible out of bounds read due to improper input validation. This could lead to remote information disclosure if error correction were turned on, with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android-8.0 Android-8.1Android ID: A-62458770

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 confidence

This is an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in the VP8 video decoder (libvpx) within Android's media framework. The issue occurs in the vp8_decode_frame function in decodeframe.c due to improper input validation, allowing a remote attacker to read sensitive memory contents by providing a specially crafted VP8 stream with error correction enabled.

MitigationApply the Android security patch for CVE-2020-0034 (March 2020 bulletins) which updates the libvpx library with proper bounds checking in the VP8 decoder. Organizations should ensure Android devices are updated to the March 2020 security patch level or later.

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 data
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 9.0
AndroidOperating system
Affected:= 8.0= 8.1

CVSS 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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check Android version and security patch level
    On the Android device, go to Settings > About Phone > Build Number or Settings > Security Patch Level to view the current Android version and security patch date. For command-line: 'getprop ro.build.version.release' and 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch'
    Affected if Android version is 8.0 or 8.1 and the security patch level is earlier than March 2020
  2. Check installed libvpx version on Debian
    Run 'dpkg -l | grep libvpx' or 'apt show libvpx' to list the installed libvpx library package and its version number
    Affected if The installed libvpx version corresponds to Debian 9.0 and has not been updated via security advisory DSA-4671-1
  3. Determine if VP8 decoding with error correction is in use
    Inspect application logs or network traffic to identify if the environment processes VP8 video streams. VP8 error correction (error resilient mode) is typically enabled in the bitstream header - check if media applications handle VP8 streams from untrusted sources
    Affected if VP8 decoding is performed and the incoming streams have error correction/resilience features enabled, which triggers the vulnerable code path in vp8_decode_frame
  4. Verify libvpx library file version
    On Debian systems, locate the library file with 'find /usr -name "*libvpx*" -type f' then check its version using 'strings' or 'file' command, or query the package with 'dpkg -S /path/to/libvpx.so'
    Affected if The library file belongs to the vulnerable package version from Debian 9.0

You are affected if you run Android 8.0/8.1 with a pre-March 2020 security patch, or Debian 9.0 with an unpatched libvpx library, and actively decode VP8 streams with error correction enabled.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the Android security patch for CVE-2020-0034 (March 2020 bulletins) which updates the libvpx library with proper bounds checking in the VP8 decoder. Organizations should ensure Android devices are updated to the March 2020 security patch level or later.

Fix this in Debian Linux Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
23.0 hours of engineering $3,960
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-0034 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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