dbcve.org
Aqt1000 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2020-11198

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-02-22
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
69/100
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
Key material used for TZ diag buffer encryption and other data related to log buffer is not wiped securely due to improper usage of memset 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 · high confidence

This vulnerability stems from improper usage of memset() to clear sensitive key material used for TZ diag buffer encryption and log buffer data in Qualcomm Snapdragon processors. The issue is that compilers may optimize away memset() calls on memory that isn't subsequently read, meaning cryptographic keys and other sensitive data may not actually be wiped from memory, leaving it vulnerable to memory disclosure attacks.

MitigationReplace standard memset() with secure memory clearing methods that cannot be optimized away (e.g., explicit_memset, volatile pointers, or compiler-specific secure zero intrinsics) to ensure key material is reliably erased from memory.

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
Csr8811 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

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
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 checks

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

  1. Identify the Qualcomm firmware product
    Determine which Qualcomm firmware variant is present on the device. This may be visible in the device's firmware information, boot logs, or by querying the hardware component (e.g., grep for 'Aqt1000', 'Ar8031', 'Csr8811', 'Csra6620', 'Csra6640', 'Csrb31024', 'Fsm10055' in system information or firmware strings).
    Affected if The device uses any of the listed firmware products: Aqt1000, Ar8031, Ar8035, Csr8811, Csra6620, Csra6640, Csrb31024, or Fsm10055.
  2. Check if TrustZone diag buffer encryption is in use
    Examine whether the device implements TZ (TrustZone) diagnostic buffer encryption. This may be observable in TrustZone configuration, security logs, or by inspecting the firmware for TZ diag-related code paths.
    Affected if The device uses TZ diag buffer encryption with the affected firmware products.
  3. Check if log buffer handling with sensitive data is present
    Inspect whether the firmware handles log buffers containing cryptographic key material or other sensitive data. Look for log buffer allocation and encryption routines in the firmware or system logs.
    Affected if The device processes log buffer data containing cryptographic keys or sensitive material on affected firmware.
  4. Analyze firmware binary for optimized memset patterns
    If you have access to the firmware binary, search for standard memset() calls used to clear key material, cryptographic buffers, or security-sensitive structures. Compare against secure patterns like explicit_memset, volatile pointer usage, or compiler intrinsics.
    Affected if The firmware uses vulnerable plain memset() calls to clear sensitive key material rather than secure memory clearing methods.

A user is affected if their device contains any of the listed Qualcomm firmware products (Aqt1000, Ar8031, Ar8035, Csr8811, Csra6620, Csra6640, Csrb31024, Fsm10055) that handle sensitive key material via potentially optimizable memset() calls for TZ diag buffer encryption or log buffer data.

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

Replace standard memset() with secure memory clearing methods that cannot be optimized away (e.g., explicit_memset, volatile pointers, or compiler-specific secure zero intrinsics) to ensure key material is reliably erased from memory.

Fix this in Aqt1000 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
42.0 hours of engineering $7,360
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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-2020-11198 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
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