dbcve.org
Aqt1000 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2020-11178

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-06-09
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Trusted APPS to overwrite the CPZ memory of another use-case as TZ only checks the physical address not overlapping with its memory and its RoT memory in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Voice & Music, Snapdragon Wired Infrastructure and Networking

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 · moderate confidence

A memory isolation vulnerability in Qualcomm Snapdragon processors where Trusted Applications can overwrite CPZ (secure/cryptographic) memory belonging to other use-cases. The Trusted Zone (TZ) only validates that physical addresses don't overlap with its own memory and Root of Trust (RoT) memory, but fails to enforce proper isolation between different trusted application memory regions, allowing one trusted app to corrupt another use-case's memory.

MitigationApply firmware/security updates from Qualcomm and device manufacturers that patch the Trusted Zone memory isolation logic. Until the patch is available, minimize exposure by limiting the number of trusted applications running on affected devices.

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
Aqt1000 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Ar8031 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Ar8035 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Csra6620 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Csra6640 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Csrb31024 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Fsm10055 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Fsm10056 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions

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
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 checks

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

  1. Identify the Qualcomm firmware product
    Check the device's firmware information via manufacturer documentation, /proc/cpuinfo, or diagnostic tools. Look for the chipset/model identifier such as Aqt1000, Ar8031, Ar8035, Csra6620, Csra6640, Csrb31024, Fsm10055, or Fsm10056.
    Affected if The device firmware matches any of the listed affected product names.
  2. Confirm firmware version
    Retrieve the specific firmware version from the device system information or boot logs. Compare against the affected versions listed (all versions are affected).
    Affected if The installed firmware version corresponds to any of the affected products regardless of version number.
  3. Check if Trusted Applications are enabled
    Examine the Trusted Zone (TZ) configuration on the device. This may be available through secure boot logs, TEE (Trusted Execution Environment) diagnostics, or manufacturer-provided security status tools.
    Affected if Trusted Applications are loaded and active on the device.
  4. Verify multiple trusted applications exist
    List all trusted applications or use-cases running in the Trusted Zone. This may require TEE debugging interfaces, secure OS enumeration, or manufacturer diagnostic tools.
    Affected if More than one trusted application is running, creating the condition where memory region isolation is required.
  5. Inspect Trusted Zone memory isolation configuration
    Review Trusted Zone security configuration or memory mapping if accessible through secure diagnostics. Check whether CPZ memory regions for different use-cases are properly isolated.
    Affected if Memory isolation between trusted applications is not enforced or cannot be verified as enforced.

The device is affected if it uses any of the listed Qualcomm firmware products and runs multiple trusted applications where proper memory isolation cannot be confirmed.

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 firmware/security updates from Qualcomm and device manufacturers that patch the Trusted Zone memory isolation logic. Until the patch is available, minimize exposure by limiting the number of trusted applications running on affected devices.

Fix this in Aqt1000 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Testing16.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
32.0 hours of engineering $5,440
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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-2020-11178 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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