Apq8009 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2020-3662

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-06-22
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
Buffer overflow can occur while parsing eac3 header while playing the clip which is nonstandard in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Voice & Music, Snapdragon Wearables in APQ8009, APQ8017, APQ8053, APQ8096AU, APQ8098, MSM8909W, MSM8917, MSM8953, MSM8996, MSM8996AU, MSM8998, QCA6574AU, QCS405, QCS605, QM215, Rennell, Saipan, SDA660, SDM429, SDM429W, SDM439, SDM450, SDM630, SDM632, SDM636, SDM660, 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 · moderate confidence

A buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the eac3 (Enhanced AC-3) audio header parsing implementation across multiple Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset families. When processing a malformed eac3 audio stream during media playback, the parser fails to enforce proper buffer boundary checks, allowing write operations beyond allocated memory boundaries. This could enable an attacker to achieve remote code execution by tricking a user into playing a specially crafted media file.

MitigationApply vendor-provided firmware/security patches for affected Snapdragon chipsets. Users should exercise caution and avoid opening media files from untrusted sources until device updates are installed.

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
Apq8017 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8053 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8096au FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Apq8098 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Msm8909w FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Msm8917 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Msm8953 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
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 checks

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

  1. Identify the chipset model
    Check the processor/SoC information on the device (through /proc/cpuinfo, system settings, or device specifications)
    Affected if The chipset model matches one of the affected models: Apq8009, Apq8017, Apq8053, Apq8096au, Apq8098, Msm8909w, Msm8917, or Msm8953
  2. Verify the firmware version
    Check the installed firmware version on the device (through system settings, build information, or AT commands for modems)
    Affected if The device runs on any of the affected chipset models regardless of version, as all versions are listed as affected
  3. Confirm eac3 audio decoding capability
    Check if the device supports eac3 (Enhanced AC-3) audio decoding through media player capabilities, codec information, or audio hardware specifications
    Affected if The device has eac3 audio decoding enabled or available as a feature on the affected chipset
  4. Test eac3 parsing with malformed stream
    If eac3 support is present, analyze media playback logs or use a media analysis tool to observe how the device handles eac3 audio streams
    Affected if The device processes eac3 audio streams and lacks the vendor security patch for this vulnerability

A user is affected if their device uses one of the listed Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets (Apq8009, Apq8017, Apq8053, Apq8096au, Apq8098, Msm8909w, Msm8917, Msm8953) and supports eac3 audio decoding without the vendor security patch 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-provided firmware/security patches for affected Snapdragon chipsets. Users should exercise caution and avoid opening media files from untrusted sources until device updates are installed.

Fix this in Apq8009 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
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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-2020-3662 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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