CVE-2020-11246 in Snapdragon Auto
Summary
by MITRE • 04/07/2021
A double free condition can occur when the device moves to suspend mode during secure playback in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/11/2021
This vulnerability represents a critical double free condition that emerges during device suspend operations in secure playback scenarios across multiple Snapdragon product lines. The flaw occurs when a device transitions to suspend mode while engaged in secure playback operations, creating a scenario where memory management functions attempt to free the same memory block twice. Such conditions typically arise from improper state handling during power management transitions, where the secure playback subsystem fails to properly track memory allocations and deallocations during the suspend process. The vulnerability affects a broad range of Snapdragon automotive and consumer IoT products, indicating a fundamental issue in the power management and memory handling subsystems that impacts device stability and security.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate synchronization mechanisms within the secure playback framework during suspend transitions. When a device enters suspend mode, the system typically halts active processes and transitions to low power states while maintaining essential functionality. However, in this case, the secure playback subsystem does not properly account for ongoing memory allocations that may be interrupted during the suspend sequence. This creates a scenario where the same memory block gets queued for deallocation multiple times, leading to potential memory corruption, system instability, or in worst-case scenarios, arbitrary code execution. The double free condition specifically manifests when the device's power management subsystem attempts to clean up resources while secure playback operations are still active or transitioning, causing the memory allocator to process the same freed block twice.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple system instability, as it creates potential security risks in automotive and industrial IoT environments where device reliability and security are paramount. In automotive applications, this vulnerability could potentially compromise the secure playback of critical content such as navigation data, vehicle diagnostics, or entertainment systems during power transitions. The vulnerability affects Snapdragon Auto platforms where continuous operation and immediate response capabilities are essential for vehicle safety systems. For consumer IoT devices, this issue could lead to device lockups or unexpected behavior during power management events, potentially disrupting critical operations in industrial monitoring or smart home applications. The broad product scope indicates that this is not an isolated incident but rather a systemic issue affecting multiple generations of Snapdragon hardware.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on implementing proper memory management protocols during power state transitions, particularly in secure playback contexts. System designers should implement robust state tracking mechanisms that prevent memory deallocation operations from occurring on blocks that are already being freed or that may be subject to concurrent access during suspend transitions. The fix typically involves adding proper synchronization primitives and ensuring that memory management functions maintain accurate reference counts or flags to prevent double free conditions. Organizations should prioritize updating affected devices to patched firmware versions and implement monitoring systems to detect anomalous behavior during power transitions. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-415 which addresses double free conditions, and represents a potential entry point for adversaries attempting to exploit memory corruption vulnerabilities in embedded systems, though it does not directly map to specific ATT&CK techniques without additional attack vectors being introduced.