CVE-2020-11291
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service via buffer overflow in IKEv2 protocol handling in Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets. It affects devices using vulnerable Snapdragon components across automotive, mobile, IoT, and compute platforms. Attackers can exploit this by sending specially crafted IKEv2 delete payloads during informational exchanges.
💻 Affected Systems
- Snapdragon Auto
- Snapdragon Compute
- Snapdragon Connectivity
- Snapdragon Consumer IOT
- Snapdragon Industrial IOT
- Snapdragon IoT
- Snapdragon Mobile
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Remote code execution with kernel/system privileges leading to complete device compromise, data theft, and persistent backdoor installation.
Likely Case
Denial of service causing device crashes, reboots, or loss of connectivity, potentially disrupting critical operations.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper network segmentation and firewall rules blocking malicious IKEv2 traffic.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires network access to IKEv2 services; no public exploit code available but vulnerability is well-documented.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Firmware updates released June 2021 and later
Vendor Advisory: https://www.qualcomm.com/company/product-security/bulletins/june-2021-bulletin
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Check device manufacturer for firmware updates. 2. Apply Qualcomm-provided firmware patches. 3. Reboot device. 4. Verify patch installation through version checks.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Network Segmentation
allIsolate vulnerable devices from untrusted networks and restrict IKEv2 traffic.
Firewall Rules
linuxBlock IKEv2 protocol traffic (UDP port 500 and 4500) from untrusted sources.
iptables -A INPUT -p udp --dport 500 -j DROP
iptables -A INPUT -p udp --dport 4500 -j DROP
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict network access controls to limit exposure to IKEv2 traffic
- Monitor for abnormal IKEv2 connection attempts and device crashes
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check device firmware version against manufacturer's patched versions; devices with pre-June 2021 firmware are likely vulnerable.Check Version:
Manufacturer-specific (e.g., 'getprop ro.build.fingerprint' on Android or vendor-specific firmware check commands)Verify Fix Applied:
Verify firmware version has been updated to post-June 2021 release; check with manufacturer-specific version commands.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unexpected device reboots/crashes
- IKEv2 connection failures
- Kernel panic logs related to network stack
Network Indicators:
- Malformed IKEv2 packets on UDP 500/4500
- Unusual spike in IKEv2 traffic to vulnerable devices
SIEM Query:
source_port=500 OR source_port=4500 AND (protocol=udp) AND (payload_size>threshold) AND destination_ip=vulnerable_device