dbcve.org
Kamorta FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2020-3617

HIGH · 7.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-09-09
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
73/100
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
u'Buffer over-read Issue in Q6 testbus framework due to diag packet length is not completely validated before accessing the field and leads to Information disclosure.' in Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile in Kamorta, Nicobar, QCS605, QCS610, Rennell, SC7180, SDA660, SDM630, SDM636, SDM660, SDM670, SDM710, SM6150, SM7150, SM8150, SXR1130

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 confidence

Buffer over-read vulnerability in the Q6 testbus framework where diag packet length is not properly validated before accessing fields, allowing attackers to read beyond buffer boundaries and disclose sensitive information. This is a firmware-level flaw in Qualcomm Snapdragon processors affecting the Q6 DSP subsystem.

MitigationApply vendor-supplied firmware patches from Qualcomm; device manufacturers must release OS/firmware updates addressing this vulnerability. Until patches are available, restrict access to the diag interface and monitor for unusual memory access patterns.

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
Kamorta FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Nicobar FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Qcs605 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Qcs610 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Rennell FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sc7180 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sda660 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Sdm630 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
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC model in the device
    Check the device specifications, system information, or /proc/cpuinfo for the processor model number (e.g., look for Snapdragon model identifiers)
    Affected if The SoC model matches one of the affected firmwares: Kamorta, Nicobar, Qcs605, Qcs610, Rennell, Sc7180, Sda660, or Sdm630
  2. Determine the Q6 DSP firmware version
    Access the device's firmware or modem partition information; on Android devices, check /firmware/image or vendor-specific diagnostic interfaces; use `getprop` or `cat /sys/firmware/devicetree/base/model` if accessible
    Affected if The Q6 DSP firmware version cannot be verified as patched or is running an unpatched build from the affected firmware families
  3. Verify if the diag interface is exposed
    Check if the diagnostic (diag) port is accessible via USB serial, debug ports, or network services; look for /dev/diag, /dev/ttyUSB0, or similar diag device nodes
    Affected if The diag interface is enabled and accessible without restrictions, allowing external interaction with the Q6 testbus framework
  4. Check for unusual memory access patterns
    Review kernel logs, DSP firmware logs, or memory dump outputs for signs of buffer over-read errors in the Q6 subsystem; grep for related crash logs or memory access violations
    Affected if Logs show memory access violations or buffer over-read events originating from the Q6 DSP testbus component

The device is affected if it contains a Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC from the listed affected firmware families and the Q6 DSP diag interface is accessible without known patches applied.

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 vendor-supplied firmware patches from Qualcomm; device manufacturers must release OS/firmware updates addressing this vulnerability. Until patches are available, restrict access to the diag interface and monitor for unusual memory access patterns.

Fix this in Kamorta Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
42.0 hours of engineering $7,360
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $11,776.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-3617 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2020-3617 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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