CVE-2017-18661
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 M(6.0) and N(7.x) software. There is a buffer overflow in process_cipher_tdea. The Samsung ID is SVE-2017-8973 (July 2017).
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 process_cipher_tdea function on Samsung mobile devices running Android M (6.0) and N (7.x). The flaw is in TDES (Triple DES) cipher processing, likely due to insufficient bounds checking when handling encrypted data, potentially allowing arbitrary code execution.
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= 6.0= 7.0= 7.1.0= 7.1.1= 7.1.2CVSS 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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Confirm device manufacturerCheck if the device is a Samsung brand by viewing the device settings or running 'getprop ro.product.manufacturer' via ADBAffected if Device is NOT a Samsung device (this vulnerability is specific to Samsung implementations)
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Check Android versionNavigate to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADBAffected if Version equals 6.0, 7.0, 7.1.0, 7.1.1, or 7.1.2 exactly
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Check security patch levelNavigate to Settings > About Phone > Security patch level, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADBAffected if Security patch level is earlier than July 2017
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Verify TDES cipher usageAudit application network traffic or cryptographic module usage for implementations using TDES (3DES) cipher algorithmsAffected if TDES cipher is actively being used for encryption/decryption operations on the device
Device is affected if it is a Samsung device running Android 6.0, 7.0, 7.1.0, 7.1.1, or 7.1.2 with a security patch level before July 2017, and TDES cipher processing is in use
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.
dbcve · scopedApply the July 2017 Samsung security patch or update the device to a newer Android version that includes the fix. Users of affected devices should check for available system updates immediately.
- Check your Samsung device model for security update support at security.samsungmobile.com
- Navigate to Samsung Security Wallet or device settings to check for available security patches
- Apply the latest Samsung security update (July 2017 or later) which includes the fix for SVE-2017-8973
- Verify the patch level in Settings > About phone > Software information matches the latest Samsung security patch for your model
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-18661 — 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-2017-18661 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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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- 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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