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Apq8009 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2020-11193

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-11-12
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
u'Buffer over read can happen while parsing mkv clip due to improper typecasting of data returned from atomsize' in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Voice & Music, Snapdragon Wearables in APQ8009, APQ8009W, APQ8017, APQ8037, APQ8053, APQ8064AU, APQ8096, APQ8096AU, APQ8096SG, APQ8098, MDM9206, MDM9650, MSM8905, MSM8909, MSM8909W, MSM8917, MSM8920, MSM8937, MSM8940, MSM8953, MSM8996, MSM8996AU, MSM8996SG, MSM8998, QCM4290, QCM6125, QCS405, QCS410, QCS4290, QCS603, QCS605, QCS610, QCS6125, QM215, QSM8350, SA6145P, SA6155, SA6155P, SA8155, SA8155P, SDA429W, SDA640, SDA660, SDA670, SDA845, SDM429, SDM429W, SDM439, SDM450, SDM455, SDM630, SDM632, SDM636, SDM640, SDM660, SDM670, SDM710, SDM830, SDM845, SDW2500, SDX20, SDX20M, SDX50M, SDX55, SDX55M, SM4125, SM4250, SM4250P, SM6115, SM6115P, SM6125, SM6150, SM6150P, SM6250, SM6250P, SM6350, SM7125, SM7150, SM7150P, SM7225, SM7250, SM7250P, SM8150, SM8150P, SM8250, SM8350, SM8350P, SXR1120, SXR1130, SXR2130, SXR2130P, WCD9330

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 buffer over-read vulnerability exists in the MKV (Matroska) video clip parser within Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets. The vulnerability is caused by improper typecasting of data returned from 'atomsize' during media file parsing, which can cause the parser to read beyond allocated buffer boundaries when processing specially crafted MKV files. This could allow remote code execution or denial of service.

MitigationApply firmware/hardware security updates provided by Qualcomm and integrated by device manufacturers. Until patches are available, exercise caution when opening MKV files from untrusted sources.

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
Apq8009 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8009w FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8017 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8037 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8053 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8064au FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8096 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8096au 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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 device chipset model
    Check the device specifications or system information to determine if the chipset is one of: Apq8009, Apq8009w, Apq8017, Apq8037, Apq8053, Apq8064au, Apq8096, or Apq8096au
    Affected if The device uses any of the listed APQ chipset models
  2. Confirm the firmware version
    Access the device's baseband or modem firmware information (typically found in Settings > About Phone > Baseband or via AT commands on mobile devices)
    Affected if The firmware version is any version on the affected chipset models (all versions are impacted)
  3. Verify MKV parsing capability is present
    Check if any media player, video codec, or multimedia framework on the device supports or includes MKV (Matroska) container parsing
    Affected if MKV playback or processing functionality exists on the device
  4. Check for media handling of untrusted MKV files
    Examine if the device automatically processes or previews MKV files from external sources, downloads, or messaging apps
    Affected if The device can automatically parse or open MKV files without user confirmation
  5. Review firmware update availability
    Check the device manufacturer or Qualcomm website for any available security patches for this specific CVE
    Affected if No patch has been applied and the device remains on an unpatched firmware version

A device is affected if it uses any of the listed Qualcomm APQ chipsets (Apq8009, Apq8009w, Apq8017, Apq8037, Apq8053, Apq8064au, Apq8096, or Apq8096au) with any firmware version and has MKV file parsing capability 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 firmware/hardware security updates provided by Qualcomm and integrated by device manufacturers. Until patches are available, exercise caution when opening MKV files from untrusted sources.

Fix this in Apq8009 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation12.0 h
  • Implementation24.0 h
  • Testing16.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
60.0 hours of engineering $10,560
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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-2020-11193 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