CVE-2020-3633
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 · uneditedArray out of bound may occur while playing mp3 file as no check is there on offset if it is greater than the buffer allocated or not in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Voice & Music, Snapdragon Wearables in APQ8009, APQ8053, APQ8096AU, APQ8098, Kamorta, MDM9206, MDM9207C, MDM9607, MSM8905, MSM8909W, MSM8917, MSM8953, MSM8996AU, MSM8998, QCS405, QCS605, QM215, Rennell, Saipan, SDA660, SDM429, SDM429W, SDM439, SDM450, SDM630, SDM632, SDM636, SDM660, SDM670, SDM710, SDM845, SDX20, SM6150, SM7150, SM8150, SM8250, 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 confidenceA buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the MP3 playback functionality of Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets where no bounds checking is performed on an offset value before accessing a buffer. If a malicious MP3 file contains an offset value larger than the allocated buffer size, an attacker can trigger an out-of-bounds memory read/write, potentially leading to code execution or 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 chipset modelCheck the processor/chipset identifier on the device (e.g., via /proc/cpuinfo, system information, or device specifications)Affected if The chipset model matches one of the affected variants: Apq8009, Apq8053, Apq8096au, Apq8098, Kamorta, Mdm9206, Mdm9207c, or Mdm9607
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Confirm MP3 playback functionality is presentVerify that the device or software stack includes MP3 decoding capability (check for MP3 codec libraries, media player components, or audio playback modules)Affected if MP3 playback functionality exists on the device
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Check if the device processes MP3 files from untrusted sourcesReview how the device handles MP3 files - identify if third-party apps, messaging apps, or browsers can deliver MP3 files that get automatically processed by the media frameworkAffected if The device accepts or plays MP3 files from sources outside the trusted vendor ecosystem (e.g., downloads, attachments, streaming)
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Inspect firmware versionRetrieve the firmware/build version from the device (e.g., via Settings > About Phone, AT commands for modems, or manufacturer documentation)Affected if The firmware version has not been patched - note that all versions of the listed chipsets are affected unless a security patch has been applied
You are likely affected if your device uses one of the listed Qualcomm chipsets (Apq8009, Apq8053, Apq8096au, Apq8098, Kamorta, Mdm9206, Mdm9207c, Mdm9607) and processes MP3 files, as all firmware versions of these chipsets contain the vulnerable code.
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 the vendor-supplied security patch from Qualcomm through OEM OTA firmware updates. Until the patch is deployed, exercise caution when playing MP3 files from untrusted sources.
- Consultation8.0 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 $12,352.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-3633 — 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-2020-3633 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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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.
- 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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