CVE-2015-5524
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedAn issue was discovered on Samsung mobile devices with KK(4.4) and later software through 2015-05-13. There is a buffer overflow in datablock_write because the amount of received data is not validated. The Samsung ID is SVE-2015-4018 (December 2015).
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceA buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the datablock_write function on Samsung mobile devices running Android KitKat (4.4) and later versions through May 2015. The vulnerability stems from the lack of validation on the amount of received data before it is written to a buffer, allowing potential arbitrary code execution or system compromise.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= 4.4CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the device manufacturerCheck the device settings or use 'getprop ro.product.manufacturer' or 'getprop ro.brand' command to confirm the device is a Samsung productAffected if The device is not manufactured by Samsung - this vulnerability specifically affects Samsung mobile devices
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Confirm Android version is 4.4 (KitKat)Check the Android version via Settings > About Phone > Android version, or use 'getprop ro.build.version.release' commandAffected if The Android version is 4.4 (KitKat) - the vulnerability affects devices running this specific version
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Verify the security patch levelCheck the build information for the security patch date via 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' or review the firmware build number against Samsung's security advisory SVE-2015-4018Affected if The security patch level is dated May 2015 or earlier, indicating the SVE-2015-4018 fix has not been applied
A Samsung mobile device running Android 4.4 (KitKat) with a security patch level at or before May 2015 is likely affected by this vulnerability.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataApply the Samsung security update (SVE-2015-4018) or subsequent firmware updates that address this vulnerability. Organizations should inventory affected Samsung devices and coordinate with Samsung for patch deployment.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA6.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,320.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-5524 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2015-5524 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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