CVE-2020-11179Public exploit

Kernel code execution via ring-buffer pointer corruption

Published Jan 21, 2021 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Improper memory access in Qualcomm Snapdragon Adreno GPUs allows local users to execute kernel code through crafted GPU commands. The KGSL driver trusts a GPU-writable scratch-buffer read pointer when allocating ring-buffer space, allowing commands to overlap pending work and race a protected-mode transition. Code running inside an Android application sandbox can then replace a privileged operation, redirect GPU page tables, and read or write arbitrary kernel memory.

CVSS severity7.0
High
EPSS probability0.32%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper memory access in Qualcomm Snapdragon Adreno GPUs allows local users to execute kernel code through crafted GPU commands. The KGSL driver trusts a GPU-writable scratch-buffer read pointer when allocating ring-buffer space, allowing commands to overlap pending work and race a protected-mode transition. Code running inside an Android application sandbox can then replace a privileged operation, redirect GPU page tables, and read or write arbitrary kernel memory.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-11179
Published
Jan 21, 2021
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Qualcomm
Product
Snapdragon
Classifications
CWE-787, CWE-125, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jan 21, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 4, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=APQ8009, APQ8009W, APQ8017, APQ8037, APQ8053, APQ8064AU, APQ8096AU, AQT1000, AR8031, AR8035, AR8151, CSRA6620, CSRA6640, CSRB31024, FSM10055, FSM10056, MDM9206, MDM9650, MSM8909W, MSM8917, MSM8920, MSM8937, MSM8940, MSM8953, MSM8996AU, PM215, PM3003A, PM4125, PM439, PM456, PM6125, PM6150, PM6150A, PM6150L, PM6250, PM6350, PM640A, PM640L, PM640P, PM660, PM660A, PM660L, PM670, PM670A, PM670L, PM7150A, PM7150L, PM7250, PM7250B, PM7350C, PM8004, PM8005, PM8008, PM8009, PM8150, PM8150A, PM8150B, PM8150C, PM8150L, PM8250, PM8350, PM8350B, PM8350BH, PM8350BHS, PM8350C, PM855, PM855A, PM855B, PM855L, PM855P, PM8909, PM8916, PM8937, PM8940, PM8953, PM8996, PM8998, PMC1000H, PMC7180, PMD9607, PMD9655, PME605, PMI632, PMI8937, PMI8952, PMI8994, PMI8996, PMI8998, PMK7350, PMK8001, PMK8002, PMK8003, PMK8350, PMM6155AU, PMM8155AU, PMM8195AU, PMM855AU, PMM8996AU, PMR525, PMR735A, PMR735B, PMW3100, PMX20, PMX24, PMX50, PMX55, QAT3514, QAT3516, QAT3518, QAT3519, QAT3522, QAT3550, QAT3555, QAT5515, QAT5516, QAT ...[truncated*]

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Qualcomm · Snapdragonversion=APQ8009, APQ8009W, APQ8017, APQ8037, APQ8053, APQ8064AU, APQ8096AU, AQT1000, AR8031, AR8035, AR8151, CSRA6620, CSRA6640, CSRB31024, FSM10055, FSM10056, MDM9206, MDM9650, MSM8909W, MSM8917, MSM8920, MSM8937, MSM8940, MSM8953, MSM8996AU, PM215, PM3003A, PM4125, PM439, PM456, PM6125, PM6150, PM6150A, PM6150L, PM6250, PM6350, PM640A, PM640L, PM640P, PM660, PM660A, PM660L, PM670, PM670A, PM670L, PM7150A, PM7150L, PM7250, PM7250B, PM7350C, PM8004, PM8005, PM8008, PM8009, PM8150, PM8150A, PM8150B, PM8150C, PM8150L, PM8250, PM8350, PM8350B, PM8350BH, PM8350BHS, PM8350C, PM855, PM855A, PM855B, PM855L, PM855P, PM8909, PM8916, PM8937, PM8940, PM8953, PM8996, PM8998, PMC1000H, PMC7180, PMD9607, PMD9655, PME605, PMI632, PMI8937, PMI8952, PMI8994, PMI8996, PMI8998, PMK7350, PMK8001, PMK8002, PMK8003, PMK8350, PMM6155AU, PMM8155AU, PMM8195AU, PMM855AU, PMM8996AU, PMR525, PMR735A, PMR735B, PMW3100, PMX20, PMX24, PMX50, PMX55, QAT3514, QAT3516, QAT3518, QAT3519, QAT3522, QAT3550, QAT3555, QAT5515, QAT5516, QAT ...[truncated*]

Published CVSS scores

6.9NIST NVDAV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
7.0NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-787Out-of-bounds Write
CWE-125Out-of-bounds Read
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

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