dbcve.org
Aqt1000 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2020-11281

HIGH · 7.5 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 →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
Allowing RTT frames to be linked with non randomized MAC address by comparing the sequence numbers can lead to information disclosure. in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer Electronics 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 · moderate confidence

This vulnerability in Qualcomm Snapdragon Wi-Fi chips allows RTT (Round Trip Time) frames to be linked to a device's real (non-randomized) MAC address by comparing sequence numbers. This bypasses MAC address randomization protections, enabling an attacker to track a specific device even when privacy features are enabled, leading to information disclosure.

MitigationApply firmware updates from device manufacturers that include the Qualcomm fix addressing RTT frame sequence number handling to ensure MAC address randomization is properly maintained during RTT operations.

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
Ipq5010 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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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 Wi-Fi chip model
    Check device specifications, FCC ID, or hardware schematics to determine if the Wi-Fi chipset is one of the affected Qualcomm models (Aqt1000, Ar8031, Ar8035, Csr8811, Csra6620, Csra6640, Csrb31024, Ipq5010)
    Affected if The device uses any of the listed Qualcomm Wi-Fi chip models
  2. Confirm RTT (802.11mc) feature is enabled
    Check device Wi-Fi settings, registry, or config files for 802.11mc RTT positioning capability. On Linux, check with 'iw list' for 'IEEE 802.11mc FTM' support under supported interfaces
    Affected if RTT/FTM functionality is enabled and the device is using one of the affected chips
  3. Verify MAC address randomization status
    On the device, confirm whether MAC address randomization is enabled for Wi-Fi connections. On Android, check Settings > Network & Internet > Wi-Fi > Wi-Fi preferences > Use randomized MAC. On Linux, check network manager config
    Affected if MAC randomization is enabled but RTT frames are being sent with predictable sequence numbers linking to the real MAC
  4. Capture and inspect RTT frames
    Use a Wi-Fi analyzer (such as Wireshark with a monitor-mode adapter) to capture 802.11mc FTM frames. Look for FTM Action frames and examine the sequence number field in the FTM parameters
    Affected if FTM/RTT frames are visible in capture and contain sequence numbers that correlate to the device's real MAC address rather than a randomized one
  5. Check firmware version
    Consult device firmware or driver information. On Linux, check 'dmesg' for chip firmware details or 'ethtool -i wlan0' for driver/firmware version information from the manufacturer
    Affected if The firmware version matches any of the listed affected chips (all versions are vulnerable)

A device is affected if it uses any of the listed Qualcomm Wi-Fi chips (Aqt1000, Ar8031, Ar8035, Csr8811, Csra6620, Csra6640, Csrb31024, Ipq5010) and has RTT/802.11mc functionality enabled, regardless of MAC randomization settings.

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 firmware updates from device manufacturers that include the Qualcomm fix addressing RTT frame sequence number handling to ensure MAC address randomization is properly maintained during RTT operations.

Fix this in Aqt1000 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation12.0 h
  • Implementation20.0 h
  • Testing16.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
56.0 hours of engineering $9,840
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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-2020-11281 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