CVE-2020-11293 in Snapdragon Auto
Summary
by MITRE • 05/07/2021
Out of bound read can happen in Widevine TA while copying data to buffer from user data due to lack of check of buffer length received in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon IoT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Voice & Music, Snapdragon Wearables, Snapdragon Wired Infrastructure and Networking
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/12/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-11293 represents a critical out-of-bounds read condition within the Widevine Trusted Application component of Qualcomm's Snapdragon chipsets. This flaw exists specifically during the data copying process from user-provided data to internal buffers, where insufficient validation of buffer length parameters occurs. The vulnerability affects a comprehensive range of Qualcomm's Snapdragon product lines including automotive systems, compute platforms, connectivity solutions, consumer IoT devices, industrial IoT applications, mobile processors, voice and music processing units, wearable technology, and wired infrastructure networking solutions. The Widevine Trusted Application serves as a critical component in digital rights management and content protection systems, making this vulnerability particularly concerning for media content security and device integrity.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation within the buffer management logic of the Widevine TA implementation. When user data is processed and copied to internal buffers, the system fails to properly verify that the source data length does not exceed the allocated buffer boundaries. This absence of length validation creates an exploitable condition where maliciously crafted input data can cause the application to read memory beyond the intended buffer limits. The vulnerability manifests during the data transfer operation between user space and the trusted execution environment, where buffer size parameters are not adequately validated before memory operations occur. This type of flaw falls under the CWE-129 category of "Improper Validation of Array Index" and represents a classic buffer overflow condition that can lead to information disclosure, system instability, or potentially arbitrary code execution within the trusted execution environment.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends across multiple security domains and device types within the Qualcomm ecosystem. Attackers could potentially exploit this condition to extract sensitive information from memory locations beyond the intended buffer boundaries, potentially accessing encryption keys, cryptographic material, or other confidential data processed by the Widevine TA. The vulnerability's presence in automotive systems raises concerns about vehicle security and the protection of in-vehicle entertainment systems, while its occurrence in mobile and wearable devices could compromise user privacy and device integrity. The widespread deployment of affected Snapdragon chipsets across various industries means that exploitation could affect thousands of devices simultaneously, creating a significant risk for organizations relying on Qualcomm's secure processing capabilities. This vulnerability also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for "Command and Scripting Interpreter: JavaScript' and T1566.001 for 'Phishing: Spearphishing Attachment' as attackers could leverage this flaw in targeted attacks against vulnerable systems.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2020-11293 should focus on both immediate patch deployment and architectural improvements to buffer management practices. Qualcomm has released security updates addressing this vulnerability through their regular security patches, and device manufacturers should prioritize applying these updates across affected device fleets. Organizations should implement monitoring for anomalous memory access patterns and data transfer operations that could indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability highlights the importance of implementing robust input validation and buffer boundary checking mechanisms within trusted applications, particularly in security-critical components like digital rights management systems. Additionally, system administrators should consider implementing network segmentation and access controls to limit potential attack vectors that could leverage this vulnerability. The fix typically involves adding proper bounds checking before buffer copy operations and ensuring that all user-provided data lengths are validated against allocated buffer sizes before memory operations are performed.