CVE-2020-11203
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 · uneditedStack overflow may occur if GSM/WCDMA broadcast config size received from user is larger than variable length array in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Wearables
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 confidenceA stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability in Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets where the GSM/WCDMA broadcast configuration size received from user input is not validated against the size of a variable-length array allocated on the stack. An attacker can provide a larger-than-expected size value to overflow the stack, potentially leading to code execution.
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 dataall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsCVSS 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
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the Qualcomm chipset modelCheck the device or system information to determine the exact Qualcomm chipset or firmware identifier (e.g., via dmesg, /proc/cpuinfo, or vendor diagnostic tools)Affected if The chipset model matches Apq8009w, Apq8064au, Apq8096au, Aqt1000, Msm8909w, Msm8996au, Pm215, or Pm456
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Verify the firmware versionRetrieve the firmware version from the device's system settings, boot logs, or via AT commands for modem firmwareAffected if The firmware version corresponds to any release of the affected chipsets listed (all versions are affected per the advisory)
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Confirm GSM/WCDMA broadcast feature is accessibleDetermine if the device exposes interfaces for GSM/WCDMA broadcast configuration (e.g., through modem AT commands, diagnostic ports, or RF configuration utilities)Affected if The GSM/WCDM broadcast configuration interface is accessible and accepts user-supplied size parameters
If the device uses any of the affected Qualcomm chipset models (Apq8009w, Apq8064au, Apq8096au, Aqt1000, Msm8909w, Msm8996au, Pm215, Pm456) and exposes the GSM/WCDMA broadcast configuration interface, the environment is affected by this vulnerability.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataApply vendor-provided firmware/security updates from Qualcomm and device OEMs. Implement strict bounds validation on user-supplied configuration sizes before using them to access stack-allocated buffers.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA8.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $12,352.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-11203 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-11203 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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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