# CVE-2020-11725: Integer overflow in n/a

> Potential integer overflow in Linux kernel sound control code, though disputed by maintainers as safe in existing callers.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 12 Apr 2020
- **Updated:** 29 May 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2020-11725, GHSA-xqgg-8qqr-cmpg, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2020-11725, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2020-11725, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2020-11725

## What is CVE-2020-11725?

CVE-2020-11725 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 12 Apr 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

snd_ctl_elem_add in sound/core/control.c in the Linux kernel through 5.6.3 has a count=info->owner line, which later affects a private_size*count multiplication for unspecified "interesting side effects." NOTE: kernel engineers dispute this finding, because it could be relevant only if new callers were added that were unfamiliar with the misuse of the info->owner field to represent data unrelated to the "owner" concept. The existing callers, SNDRV_CTL_IOCTL_ELEM_ADD and SNDRV_CTL_IOCTL_ELEM_REPLACE, have been designed to misuse the info->owner field in a safe way

Weakness: CWE-704 (Incorrect Type Conversion or Cast)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-11725?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-11725?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2020-11725 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-11725 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-11725 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-11725 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 12 Apr 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-11725 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-11725/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-11725/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-11725
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-11725
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-11725

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-11725/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.