CVE-2020-3678
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 · uneditedu'A buffer overflow could occur if the API is improperly used due to UIE init does not contain a buffer size a param' in Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Wired Infrastructure and Networking in Agatti, Kamorta, QCS404, QCS605, SDA845, SDM670, SDM710, SDM845, 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 · moderate confidenceA buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the UIE (User Interface Engine) initialization API of Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets. The API lacks a proper buffer size parameter, allowing applications to pass improperly sized buffers that can overflow. This affects multiple chipset families used in consumer and industrial IoT devices, mobile devices, and networking equipment.
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.
-
Identify the chipset modelCheck /proc/cpuinfo, /sys/devices/system/cpu/, or use 'lspci'/'lsusb' on embedded devices to determine the Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset in useAffected if The chipset model matches one of the affected families: Agatti, Kamorta, Qcs404, Qcs605, Sda845, Sdm670, Sdm710, or Sdm845
-
Confirm firmware versionQuery the device firmware version through vendor-specific interfaces (e.g., /proc/version, AT commands on modems, or manufacturer diagnostic tools)Affected if The firmware version corresponds to any listed affected product family (all versions of these firmware variants are affected)
-
Identify UIE API usageSearch application binaries and libraries for references to UIE (User Interface Engine) initialization functions - look for symbols containing 'UIE' or 'uiE' in decompiled application code, or monitor library loading for UIE-related shared objectsAffected if Any application or service on the device invokes the UIE initialization API
-
Inspect buffer handling in UIE codeReview the application source code or binary that calls the UIE initialization API, specifically examining the buffer parameter being passed and whether a corresponding size parameter is provided to the API callAffected if The application passes a buffer to the UIE API without providing an explicit size parameter, or the size parameter is omitted from the function call
-
Check for vulnerable API invocation patternUse static analysis tools or runtime tracing to identify UIE API calls where the buffer address is provided but no size validation occurs before the callAffected if The UIE initialization API is called with a buffer argument but the API lacks a size parameter to validate buffer boundaries (this is the core vulnerability)
A device is affected if it uses any of the listed Qualcomm chipset families and runs applications that invoke the UIE initialization API without proper buffer size validation.
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 dataApplication developers must ensure proper buffer size validation when using the UIE API until a firmware patch is available from Qualcomm. Device manufacturers should apply vendor-provided security updates for affected Snapdragon chipsets.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $7,616.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-3678 — 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-2020-3678 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
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.
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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data