Apq8009 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2020-3666

HIGH · 7.8 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 →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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'Out of bounds memory access during memory copy while processing Host command' in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer Electronics Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Voice & Music, Snapdragon Wired Infrastructure and Networking in APQ8009, APQ8017, APQ8053, APQ8096AU, APQ8098, IPQ4019, IPQ6018, IPQ8064, IPQ8074, MDM9206, MDM9207C, MDM9607, MDM9640, MDM9650, MSM8996AU, MSM8998, QCA6174A, QCA6574, QCA6574AU, QCA6584AU, QCA8081, QCA9377, QCA9379, QCA9531, QCA9558, QCA9563, QCA9880, QCA9886, QCA9980, QCN5500, QCN5502, QCS404, QCS405, QCS605, SA6155P, SDA845, SDM630, SDM636, SDM660, SDM670, SDM710, SDM845, SDM850, SDX20, SDX24, 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

A memory safety vulnerability in Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets where an out-of-bounds memory access occurs during memory copy operations while processing Host commands. This could allow local or potentially privileged attackers to corrupt memory outside allocated buffers, potentially leading to code execution or information disclosure.

MitigationApply firmware updates provided by Qualcomm to device manufacturers, then deployed to end-user devices. Organizations should inventory affected hardware and work with device vendors to verify patch availability and deployment timelines.

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
Ipq4019 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Ipq6018 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Ipq8064 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
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 checks

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

  1. Identify Qualcomm chipset model in device
    Examine device hardware specifications, bootloader, or system information to determine the exact Qualcomm chipset model (Apq8009, Apq8017, Apq8053, Apq8096au, Apq8098, Ipq4019, Ipq6018, or Ipq8064)
    Affected if The device uses any of the eight listed chipset models
  2. Retrieve firmware version from chipset
    Access the Qualcomm chipset firmware version through device diagnostics, bootloader logs, AT command interface, or vendor-specific management interface
    Affected if The firmware version cannot be determined or matches an affected chipset with all firmware versions
  3. Confirm Host command processing is active
    Verify that the Host command processing functionality is enabled on the chipset - this is typically a core operating feature for communication between host processor and modem
    Affected if Host command processing is enabled (this is the default operating state for these chipsets)

The environment is affected if any device contains one of the eight listed Qualcomm chipset models (Apq8009, Apq8017, Apq8053, Apq8096au, Apq8098, Ipq4019, Ipq6018, Ipq8064) regardless of firmware version, since all versions are vulnerable.

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 firmware updates provided by Qualcomm to device manufacturers, then deployed to end-user devices. Organizations should inventory affected hardware and work with device vendors to verify patch availability and deployment timelines.

Fix this in Apq8009 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,920
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,672.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-3666 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-3666 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