CVE-2020-11261
CVE-2020-11261 is a security flaw in Qualcomm Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Voice & Music, Snapdragon Wearables, the chips inside many Android phones. Attackers can corrupt memory in Qualcomm Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Voice & Music, Snapdragon Wearables, which they use to take it over. The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) added it to its catalog of flaws known to be used in attacks on 1 Dec 2021.[1]
Qualcomm Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Voice & Music, Snapdragon Wearables is in things households have, such as phones, computers, browsers and everyday apps, so the fix matters at home as much as at work. Qualcomm has published a fix or advice.
Description
CISA calls it a multiple chipsets improper input validation in Qualcomm Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Voice & Music, Snapdragon Wearables. In its words: “Memory corruption due to improper check to return error when user application requests memory allocation of a huge size in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Voice & Music, Snapdragon Wearables”[1]
The underlying weakness is improper input validation (CWE-20), in MITRE’s list of common software weaknesses.[2]
It scores 7.8 out of 10 on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System, which rates it high, scored by NVD using CVSS 3.1.[2]
Affected versions
NVD’s record doesn’t list version ranges for it; Qualcomm’s advisory has them[3]. CISA names the product as Qualcomm Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Voice & Music, Snapdragon Wearables.
Every device with Qualcomm Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Voice & Music, Snapdragon Wearables needs the update.
Exploitation
CISA added it to its catalog of known exploited vulnerabilities on 1 Dec 2021, 175 days after it was made public. CISA lists a flaw only when it has reliable evidence of it being exploited, and gave US federal agencies until 1 Jun 2022 to fix it.[1]
FIRST’s Exploit Prediction Scoring System, which estimates how likely a flaw is to be used in attacks in the next 30 days from what it sees across the internet, puts it at 2%. That’s in the top 25% of the flaws it scores.[4]
CISA assesses it as not automatable: each attack takes some work.
CISA doesn’t say who was attacked, or how.
Fix
Qualcomm has published a fix or advice.[3] CISA’s required action: “Apply updates per vendor instructions.”[1]
- Update Qualcomm Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Connectivity, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Voice & Music, Snapdragon Wearables now.Install the latest update from Qualcomm on every device that has it, and restart when asked. Then turn on automatic updates, so the next fix arrives on its own.
- If there’s no update, stop using it.CISA’s advice when a flaw being used in attacks has no fix is to stop using the product until it does.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| The flaw is made public in the National Vulnerability Database, with a severity score of 7.8.[2] | |
| CISA adds it to its catalog of flaws known to be used in attacks.[1] | |
| CISA’s deadline for US government agencies to fix it.[1] | |
| FIRST puts the odds of it being used in attacks in the next 30 days at 2%.[4] |
See also
Other Qualcomm flaws
- CVE-2026-21385, Qualcomm Multiple Chipsets: memory corruption ·
- CVE-2025-27038, Qualcomm Multiple Chipsets: use-after-free ·
- CVE-2025-21480, Qualcomm Multiple Chipsets: incorrect authorization ·
- CVE-2025-21479, Qualcomm Multiple Chipsets: incorrect authorization ·
- CVE-2024-43047, Qualcomm Multiple Chipsets: use-after-free ·
Other improper input validation flaws
- CVE-2026-93952, Arista VeloCloud Orchestrator: improper input validation ·
- CVE-2019-1068, Microsoft SQL Server: remote code execution ·
- CVE-2026-12569, PTC Windchill and FlexPLM: improper input validation ·
- CVE-2026-34910, Ubiquiti UniFi OS: improper input validation ·
- CVE-2026-6973, Ivanti Endpoint Manager Mobile (EPMM): improper input validation ·
Added the same day
- CVE-2021-44077, Zoho ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (SDP) / SupportCenter Plus: manageEngine serviceDesk plus remote code execution ·
- CVE-2021-40438, Apache: HTTP server-side request forgery (SSRF) ·
- CVE-2021-37415, Zoho ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (SDP): manageEngine serviceDesk authentication bypass ·
- CVE-2018-14847, MikroTik RouterOS: router OS directory traversal ·
Every Qualcomm flaw on CISA’s list · Everything added in December 2021
References
- ^ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. “Qualcomm Multiple Chipsets Improper Input Validation Vulnerability”. Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, added 1 Dec 2021.
- ^ National Institute of Standards and Technology. “CVE-2020-11261 Detail”. National Vulnerability Database, published 9 Jun 2021.
- ^ Qualcomm. Advisories and fixes: qualcomm.com.
- ^ FIRST. “Exploit Prediction Scoring System”. EPSS 0.016, percentile 75.9, 31 Oct 2026.
- CVE Program. “CVE-2020-11261”. The official CVE record.
This article is built from CISA’s catalog (version 2026.10.30), NVD’s record and FIRST’s scores, kept in HARD’s database and checked every morning. The plain English is HARD’s.