CVE-2020-3642
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 · uneditedUse after free issue in camera applications when used randomly over multiple operations due to pointer not set to NULL after free/destroy of the object in Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Mobile in Kamorta, QCS605, Rennell, Saipan, SDM670, SDM710, SDM845, 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 confidenceUse-after-free vulnerability in camera applications where a pointer is not set to NULL after a free/destroy operation on an object. When the camera application is used randomly over multiple operations, the dangling pointer can be dereferenced, 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
- 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 Qualcomm Snapdragon platform in useCheck the device or system information to determine which Snapdragon chipset is present (Sdm845, Sdm710, Sdm670, Sm6150, Qcs605, Kamorta, Rennell, or Saipan)Affected if The device uses any of the listed affected platforms (Sdm845, Sdm710, Sdm670, Sm6150, Qcs605, Kamorta, Rennell, or Saipan)
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Check the camera firmware versionAccess the camera subsystem or firmware version information through the device settings, system diagnostics, or by querying /proc/camera/version or similar diagnostic interface if availableAffected if A camera firmware version is returned and the platform matches the affected list
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Verify the vendor security patch levelCheck the system security patch level (Android patch level in Settings > About Phone > Build Number, or firmware release notes) and compare it to the vendor advisory date for CVE-2020-3642Affected if The security patch level is earlier than the vendor release date for the CVE-2020-3642 patch
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Monitor camera application stabilityReview system logs, crash reports, or bug reports for the camera application showing use-after-free errors, segfaults, or unexpected termination during or after camera operationsAffected if Repeated camera application crashes or memory corruption errors occur during camera usage
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Inspect camera memory handling if debugging is enabledIf camera debugging is available, use tools like camera HAL debug logs or memory debugging utilities to observe whether freed pointers are being dereferenced or if NULL checks are missing in camera operationsAffected if Debug output shows dangling pointer dereferences or missing NULL validation after memory free operations in camera code
A user is affected if their device uses any of the listed Qualcomm Snapdragon platforms and the vendor security patch for CVE-2020-3642 has not been applied.
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-provided patch for the affected Snapdragon platform. Ensure the camera application sets all freed pointers to NULL and implements proper object lifecycle management.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-3642 — 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-2020-3642 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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