CVE-2020-11222
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 · uneditedBuffer over read while processing MT SMS with maximum length due to improper length check in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon IoT, Snapdragon Mobile
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 confidenceA buffer over-read vulnerability exists in Snapdragon chipsets when processing Mobile Terminated (MT) SMS messages at maximum length. The root cause is an improper length check that allows reading beyond the boundaries of an allocated buffer, potentially exposing sensitive memory contents or causing denial of service.
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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 specifications, baseband info, or system-on-chip (SoC) details. On Android, this is typically found under Settings > About Phone > SoC or baseband version. On Linux systems, check /proc/cpuinfo or use commands like 'lspci' or 'cat /sys/class/net/*/device' for network adapter chipset info.Affected if The device uses any of the following: Apq8017, Apq8053, Aqt1000, Ar8035, Csrb31024, Fsm10055, Msm8917, or Msm8920 chipset variants.
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Verify SMS service is enabledCheck if Mobile Terminated (MT) SMS reception is active on the device. On Android, verify under Settings > Network & Internet > SIM cards > SMS (or Settings > Connections > SIM card manager > SMS). On embedded devices, check if the baseband radio daemon and SMSC (SMS Service Center) are running.Affected if SMS receiving capability is enabled and the device can receive MT SMS messages.
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Confirm baseband/modem firmware versionRetrieve the baseband or modem firmware version. On Android, use 'AT+CGMR' via a terminal app with modem diagnostics, or check Settings > About Phone > Baseband version. On Linux-based embedded systems, check /proc/cmdline or query the radio interface (e.g., 'quectel-cm' or 'mbimctl' for Quectel modems).Affected if The baseband firmware version corresponds to any of the affected chipset variants listed, regardless of version number (all versions are affected).
The device is potentially affected if it incorporates any of the listed Qualcomm chipsets (Apq8017, Apq8053, Aqt1000, Ar8035, Csrb31024, Fsm10055, Msm8917, Msm8920) and has SMS reception capability enabled, since all firmware versions for these chipsets contain the 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-supplied firmware updates from Qualcomm or device manufacturers to address the improper length validation in SMS processing code.
- Consultation12.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing16.0 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 $12,288.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-11222 — 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-2020-11222 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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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.
- 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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