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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2020-0496

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-12-15
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 CPDF_RenderStatus::LoadSMask of cpdf_renderstatus.cpp, there is a possible memory corruption due to a use-after free. This could lead to local information disclosure with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android-11Android ID: A-149481220

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

A use-after-free vulnerability exists in CPDF_RenderStatus::LoadSMask function within the Android PDF rendering library (cpdf_renderstatus.cpp). The function frees memory but continues to reference it, leading to memory corruption that can be exploited for local information disclosure without requiring additional privileges or user interaction.

MitigationApply the Android security patch for January 2021 (or later) which addresses this vulnerability in the PDFium library. Users should ensure their devices are running Android-11 with the latest system updates installed.

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
AndroidOperating system
Affected:= 11.0

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 is 11.0
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run `getprop ro.build.version.release` via ADB
    Affected if Android version is exactly 11.0 (note: other versions are not affected)
  2. Verify PDFium library is present
    Check for the PDF rendering library at /system/lib/libpdfium.so or /system/lib64/libpdfium.so
    Affected if The PDFium library exists on the device (standard on Android)
  3. Confirm PDF viewer functionality is in use
    Attempt to open or render any PDF file using the built-in PDF viewer or any app using Android's PDF rendering APIs
    Affected if PDF files can be rendered or processed on the device

The device is affected only if it is running exactly Android version 11.0 and uses PDF rendering functionality; versions before or after 11.0 are not impacted by this specific CVE.

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 January 2021 (or later) which addresses this vulnerability in the PDFium library. Users should ensure their devices are running Android-11 with the latest system updates installed.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
32.0 hours of engineering $5,600
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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-2020-0496 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data