dbcve.org
Apq8009 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2020-3621

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-09-08
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
57/100
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'Lack of check to ensure that the TX read index & RX write index that are read from shared memory are less than the FIFO size results into memory corruption and potential information leakage' in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer Electronics Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Voice & Music, Snapdragon Wearables, Snapdragon Wired Infrastructure and Networking in APQ8009, APQ8017, APQ8053, APQ8096AU, APQ8098, Bitra, IPQ6018, IPQ8074, Kamorta, MDM9150, MDM9205, MDM9206, MDM9607, MDM9640, MDM9645, MDM9650, MDM9655, MSM8905, MSM8909, MSM8917, MSM8920, MSM8937, MSM8940, MSM8953, MSM8996, MSM8996AU, MSM8998, Nicobar, QCA8081, QCM2150, QCN7605, QCS404, QCS405, QCS605, QCS610, QM215, Rennell, SA415M, SA6155P, Saipan, SC7180, SC8180X, SDA660, SDA845, SDM429, SDM429W, SDM439, SDM450, SDM630, SDM632, SDM636, SDM660, SDM670, SDM710, SDM845, SDM850, SDX20, SDX24, SDX55, SM6150, SM7150, SM8150, SM8250, SXR1130, SXR2130

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

This is a bounds checking vulnerability in the shared memory FIFO management of Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets. The TX (transmit) read index and RX (receive) write index read from shared memory are not validated to ensure they are less than the FIFO size, allowing out-of-bounds memory access. This leads to memory corruption and potential information leakage.

MitigationApply vendor firmware/security updates from device manufacturers that address this vulnerability. Until patches are available, minimize exposure by restricting network access to affected devices and monitoring for anomalous behavior.

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
Apq8009 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8053 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8096au FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8098 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Bitra FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Kamorta FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9206 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Mdm9150 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
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 the chipset model
    Check the device or system documentation, or use commands like 'lspci', 'cat /proc/cpuinfo', or manufacturer tools to identify the Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset (Apq8009, Apq8053, Apq8096au, Apq8098, Bitra, Kamorta, Mdm9206, or Mdm9150)
    Affected if The chipset is one of the listed affected models (Apq8009, Apq8053, Apq8096au, Apq8098, Bitra, Kamorta, Mdm9206, or Mdm9150)
  2. Check the firmware version
    Retrieve the firmware version from the device using manufacturer-provided tools, boot logs, or system information interfaces (specific method varies by device manufacturer)
    Affected if The firmware version matches any of the affected models (all versions of the listed chipsets are vulnerable)
  3. Determine if shared memory FIFO is in use
    Review system configuration, driver settings, or inter-process communication setup to determine if the shared memory FIFO feature is enabled. This may require access to low-level system logs or driver documentation.
    Affected if The shared memory FIFO feature is actively used by the system (the vulnerability triggers when TX/RX indices are read from shared memory)

If the device uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset from the affected list (Apq8009, Apq8053, Apq8096au, Apq8098, Bitra, Kamorta, Mdm9206, or Mdm9150) with any firmware version, and the shared memory FIFO component is present, the environment is likely affected by this vulnerability.

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 firmware/security updates from device manufacturers that address this vulnerability. Until patches are available, minimize exposure by restricting network access to affected devices and monitoring for anomalous behavior.

Fix this in Apq8009 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
30.0 hours of engineering $5,200
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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-2020-3621 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