CVE-2020-11269
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability allows memory corruption in Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets when processing EAPOL frames due to insufficient validation of key length. Attackers could potentially execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service on affected devices. This affects numerous Snapdragon product lines across automotive, mobile, IoT, and networking devices.
💻 Affected Systems
- Snapdragon Auto
- Snapdragon Compute
- Snapdragon Connectivity
- Snapdragon Consumer Electronics Connectivity
- Snapdragon Consumer IOT
- Snapdragon Industrial IOT
- Snapdragon IoT
- Snapdragon Mobile
- Snapdragon Voice & Music
- Snapdragon Wearables
- Snapdragon Wired Infrastructure and Networking
📦 What is this software?
Sd7c Firmware by Qualcomm
Sd8c Firmware by Qualcomm
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Remote code execution leading to complete device compromise, data theft, or persistent backdoor installation
Likely Case
Denial of service (device crash/reboot) or limited memory corruption leading to instability
If Mitigated
No impact if patched or if EAPOL frame processing is disabled/restricted
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires sending specially crafted EAPOL frames to vulnerable device, but no public exploit code is known
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Device-specific firmware updates from OEMs
Vendor Advisory: https://www.qualcomm.com/company/product-security/bulletins/february-2021-bulletin
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Check with device manufacturer for firmware updates. 2. Apply firmware update from OEM. 3. Reboot device after update. 4. Verify patch is applied.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable vulnerable Wi-Fi features
allDisable WPA2/WPA3 enterprise authentication if not required
Device-specific configuration commands vary by manufacturer
Network segmentation
allIsolate vulnerable devices on separate network segments
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict network access controls to limit who can send EAPOL frames to vulnerable devices
- Monitor network traffic for abnormal EAPOL frame patterns and implement intrusion detection
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check device chipset model and firmware version against Qualcomm advisory listCheck Version:
Device-specific: For Android: Settings > About Phone > Build Number; For Linux-based: cat /proc/cpuinfo | grep -i qualcommVerify Fix Applied:
Verify firmware version has been updated to patched version from device manufacturer📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unexpected device reboots/crashes
- Wi-Fi authentication failures
- Kernel panic logs
Network Indicators:
- Abnormal EAPOL frame patterns
- Excessive EAPOL traffic to single device
- Malformed authentication packets
SIEM Query:
source="wireless" AND (protocol="EAPOL" AND (size>normal OR pattern=abnormal))