Aqt1000 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2020-11220

MEDIUM · 6.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-03-17
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
66/100
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
While processing storage SCM commands there is a time of check or time of use window where a pointer used could be invalid at a specific time while executing the storage SCM call in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Connectivity, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile, 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 Time of Check to Time of Use (TOCTOU) vulnerability in Qualcomm Snapdragon chips where a pointer used during storage SCM (Secure Channel Manager) command processing can become invalid between the time it is checked and the time it is used, potentially leading to memory corruption.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied firmware/patch from Qualcomm for affected Snapdragon product lines; this is a low-level firmware issue requiring vendor update rather than application-level remediation.

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
Ar8035 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Pm4125 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Pm4250 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Pm6125 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Pm6150 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Pm6150a FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Pm6150l 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
High
Privileges
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/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 affected Qualcomm chips in environment
    Inventory all hardware components to determine if any of the following Qualcomm chip models are present: Aqt1000, Ar8035, Pm4125, Pm4250, Pm6125, Pm6150, Pm6150a, or Pm6150l. This may require checking hardware BOMs, device inventories, or system documentation.
    Affected if Any of the listed chip models (Aqt1000, Ar8035, Pm4125, Pm4250, Pm6125, Pm6150, Pm6150a, Pm6150l) are present in the environment
  2. Check firmware version of identified chips
    Use vendor-provided tools or diagnostic interfaces to query the firmware version of the identified Qualcomm chip(s). For embedded devices, this may involve accessing debug UART, JTAG, or manufacturer-specific firmware reading utilities.
    Affected if The firmware version matches any of the affected chip models listed in the CVE (all versions are affected)
  3. Determine if storage SCM functionality is in use
    Review system configuration and active firmware modules to determine whether the Secure Channel Manager (SCM) storage command processing is enabled and actively handling storage commands.
    Affected if Storage SCM command processing is enabled and actively processing commands on the affected chip

Your environment is affected if it contains any of the listed Qualcomm chip models (Aqt1000, Ar8035, Pm4125, Pm4250, Pm6125, Pm6150, Pm6150a, Pm6150l) with firmware that supports storage SCM functionality.

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 vendor-supplied firmware/patch from Qualcomm for affected Snapdragon product lines; this is a low-level firmware issue requiring vendor update rather than application-level remediation.

Fix this in Aqt1000 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
42.0 hours of engineering $7,320
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2020-11220 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