CVE-2020-11190
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2020-11190 is a buffer over-read vulnerability in Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets that allows attackers to read memory beyond allocated buffers when parsing SDP values. This can lead to information disclosure or potentially code execution. Affected devices include Snapdragon Auto, Compute, Connectivity, Consumer IOT, Industrial IOT, IoT, Mobile, Voice & Music, and Wearables platforms.
💻 Affected Systems
- Snapdragon Auto
- Snapdragon Compute
- Snapdragon Connectivity
- Snapdragon Consumer IOT
- Snapdragon Industrial IOT
- Snapdragon IoT
- Snapdragon Mobile
- Snapdragon Voice & Music
- Snapdragon Wearables
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Remote code execution leading to complete device compromise, data theft, or persistent backdoor installation.
Likely Case
Information disclosure including memory contents, potentially exposing sensitive data or cryptographic keys.
If Mitigated
Limited information disclosure with proper memory protections and exploit mitigations in place.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires sending malformed SDP packets to vulnerable services. No public exploit code is known.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: March 2021 security updates and later
Vendor Advisory: https://www.qualcomm.com/company/product-security/bulletins/march-2021-bulletin
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Check device manufacturer for firmware updates. 2. Apply March 2021 or later security patches. 3. Reboot device after update. 4. Verify patch installation.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Network segmentation
allIsolate affected devices from untrusted networks to limit attack surface
Disable unnecessary SDP services
linuxTurn off Bluetooth SDP services if not required for device functionality
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict network access controls to limit exposure
- Monitor for abnormal memory access patterns or crashes in affected services
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check device firmware version against manufacturer's security bulletin. Review Qualcomm advisory for specific chipset versions.Check Version:
On Android: Settings > About phone > Android security patch level. On embedded systems: Check manufacturer documentation.Verify Fix Applied:
Verify firmware version is March 2021 or later. Check that security patch level includes March 2021 updates.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Memory access violations
- Service crashes in Bluetooth/SDP components
- Unexpected process terminations
Network Indicators:
- Unusual SDP packet patterns
- Malformed Bluetooth service discovery requests
SIEM Query:
Process:name="bluetoothd" AND (EventID:1000 OR ExceptionCode:0xc0000005)