CVE-2020-11289
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 · uneditedOut of bound write can occur in TZ command handler due to lack of validation of command ID in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon IoT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Voice & Music, Snapdragon Wearables, 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 · high confidenceAn out-of-bounds write vulnerability exists in the Trust Zone (TZ) command handler of Qualcomm Snapdragon processors across multiple product lines. The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of the command ID before use, allowing a local attacker to write data beyond intended buffer boundaries and potentially achieve code execution or cause 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
- 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 Snapdragon chipset modelDetermine the exact chipset or processor model used in your device or embedded system. Check the device specifications, system information, or board documentation for the chipset identifier (e.g., Apq8009, Apq8017, Apq8037, Apq8053, Apq8064au, Apq8096au, Aqt1000, Ar8031).Affected if The device uses any of the listed affected Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset models (Apq8009, Apq8017, Apq8037, Apq8053, Apq8064au, Apq8096au, Aqt1000, Ar8031).
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Verify Trust Zone is enabledCheck if the Trust Zone (TZ) or Secure World feature is enabled on the device. On Android devices, this can sometimes be verified through secure boot status or by checking for TEE (Trusted Execution Environment) services in the system. On embedded systems, consult hardware documentation or check secure boot configuration.Affected if Trust Zone is enabled and accessible on the device. If Trust Zone is disabled or not implemented, the attack surface may be reduced.
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Check Trust Zone firmware versionAttempt to retrieve the Trust Zone firmware version through vendor-specific interfaces if available (such as Qualcomm's TZ debug services, secure device portals, or OEM management interfaces). Consult device or OEM documentation for the specific method to query TZ firmware version.Affected if The Trust Zone firmware version cannot be verified as patched, or the installed version predates the CVE disclosure date (2020). Note: all versions of affected products are vulnerable per the CVE.
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Review access to Trust Zone interfaceAudit who or what can send commands to the Trust Zone command handler. Check for local attacker access vectors, such as applications with elevated privileges, debug interfaces, or exposed TZ-related services running on the device.Affected if Local untrusted code or attackers can interact with the Trust Zone command handler interface.
The device is affected if it uses any of the listed Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets (Apq8009, Apq8017, Apq8037, Apq8053, Apq8064au, Apq8096au, Aqt1000, Ar8031) and has Trust Zone enabled, since all firmware versions of these products 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 patches from Qualcomm and device OEMs to address the command ID validation deficiency in the Trust Zone component. Until patches are available, limit exposure of the Trust Zone interface and monitor for indicators of compromise.
- Consultation12.0 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 $13,632.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-11289 — 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-2020-11289 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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