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Ipq6018 FirmwareOperating system · Qualcomm

CVE-2020-3668

CRITICAL · 9.8 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 →
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
u'Buffer overflow while parsing PMF enabled MCBC frames due to frame length being lesser than what is expected while parsing' 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 IPQ6018, IPQ8074, Kamorta, Nicobar, QCA6390, QCA8081, QCN7605, QCS404, QCS405, QCS605, Rennell, SA415M, SC7180, SC8180X, SDA845, SDM670, SDM710, SDM845, SDM850, SM6150, SM7150, SM8150, 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

Buffer overflow vulnerability in the parsing of PMF (Protected Management Frames) enabled MCBC (Multicast Broadcast) frames across multiple Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets. The parsing code does not properly validate that incoming frame length is sufficient before processing, leading to buffer overflow when the received frame length is smaller than expected. This memory corruption vulnerability in WiFi firmware could allow remote code execution.

MitigationApply vendor-supplied firmware updates for affected Snapdragon chipsets (IPQ6018, IPQ8074, QCA6390, SC7180, SC8180X, SDM845, SM8150, etc.). Contact device manufacturers for specific 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
Ipq6018 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Ipq8074 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Kamorta FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Nicobar FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Qca6390 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Qca8081 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Qcn7605 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Qcs404 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 WiFi chipset model
    Check the device documentation, system logs, or use commands like 'lspci', 'lsusb', or check /proc/cpuinfo to identify the Qualcomm WiFi chipset (Ipq6018, Ipq8074, Kamorta, Nicobar, Qca6390, Qca8081, Qcn7605, or Qcs404)
    Affected if The device uses any of the listed affected chipsets (IPQ6018, IPQ8074, Kamorta, Nicobar, QCA6390, QCA8081, QCN7605, QCS404)
  2. Verify WiFi is enabled
    Check if the wireless interface is up using 'ip link show' or 'iwconfig', or check device network settings to confirm the WiFi radio is active
    Affected if WiFi is enabled and the device has one of the affected chipsets
  3. Check WiFi firmware version
    Examine the firmware version loaded for the WiFi chipset. This is typically found in firmware files under /lib/firmware/ or by checking kernel logs with 'dmesg | grep -i firmware', or using 'ethtool -i' on the wireless interface
    Affected if The loaded firmware version is any version of the listed affected chipsets (all versions are vulnerable)
  4. Check for PMF configuration
    If using hostapd or similar WiFi management software, check the configuration file (typically /etc/hostapd.conf) for 'wpa_key_mgmt' settings. PMF (Protected Management Frames) settings may be listed as 'PMF=1' or 'ieee80211w=1' in hostapd.conf
    Affected if PMF is enabled on an MCBC (multicast/broadcast) capable WiFi network with one of the affected chipsets

A device is affected if it uses any of the listed Qualcomm chipsets (IPQ6018, IPQ8074, Kamorta, Nicobar, QCA6390, QCA8081, QCN7605, QCS404) with WiFi enabled, 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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply vendor-supplied firmware updates for affected Snapdragon chipsets (IPQ6018, IPQ8074, QCA6390, SC7180, SC8180X, SDM845, SM8150, etc.). Contact device manufacturers for specific patch availability and deployment timelines.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence
  1. Contact the device manufacturer (OEM) to request firmware updates that address CVE-2020-3668
  2. Provide the CVE ID and CVSS 9.8 severity to the OEM to prioritize the patch
  3. Apply the vendor-provided firmware update once released
  4. Verify the patch has been applied by checking firmware version or using vulnerability scanning tools
  5. If no patch is available from the OEM, contact Qualcomm directly through their security reporting channel (www.qualcomm.com/security)
Caveat Firmware updates may require device downtime and should be tested in a non-production environment first

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Ipq6018 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation24.0 h
  • Testing16.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
56.0 hours of engineering $9,760
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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-2020-3668 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