CVE-2020-11261
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 · uneditedMemory corruption due to improper check to return error when user application requests memory allocation of a huge size in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Voice & Music, 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 · moderate confidenceMemory corruption vulnerability in Qualcomm Snapdragon chips where improper validation of memory allocation size requests allows a malicious user application to trigger memory corruption by requesting excessively large memory allocations that should be rejected but are not properly checked.
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
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the Qualcomm chipset modelCheck the device specifications or use commands like 'cat /proc/cpuinfo' on Android/Linux devices, or check the SoC documentation. Look for APQ model numbers: Apq8009, Apq8009w, Apq8017, Apq8037, Apq8053, Apq8064au, Aqt1000, or Apq8096au.Affected if The chipset matches any of the listed APQ model numbers (Apq8009, Apq8009w, Apq8017, Apq8037, Apq8053, Apq8064au, Aqt1000, or Apq8096au).
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Confirm firmware versionRetrieve the firmware version through device settings, bootloader, or commands like 'getprop' on Android. For embedded devices, check the modem or system firmware version strings.Affected if The device runs any firmware version on an affected chipset (all versions are vulnerable).
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Verify user application accessDetermine if the device allows installation or execution of third-party applications. Check if untrusted apps can be installed or if the device is a locked/managed device.Affected if User applications can be installed or executed on the device, enabling the attack vector described in the CVE.
The device is affected if it uses any of the listed Qualcomm APQ chipset models (Apq8009, Apq8009w, Apq8017, Apq8037, Apq8053, Apq8064au, Aqt1000, or Apq8096au) and permits execution of untrusted local applications.
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/SDK patches from Qualcomm for affected Snapdragon product lines; implement application vetting and privilege separation to limit untrusted apps' ability to make memory allocation requests.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation4.0 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 $9,856.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-11261 — 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-2020-11261 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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