CVE-2017-18663
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 N(7.x) software. Because of missing Intent exception handling, system_server can have a NullPointerException with a crash of a system process. The Samsung IDs are SVE-2017-9122, SVE-2017-9123, SVE-2017-9124, and SVE-2017-9126 (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 · high confidenceOn Samsung devices running Android N (7.x), the system_server component lacks proper exception handling for certain Intent calls. When processing these Intents without null checks, a NullPointerException is triggered, causing the system_server process to crash.
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= 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
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 device manufacturerCheck if the device is a Samsung device by viewing the device info in Settings or running 'getprop ro.product.manufacturer' via ADBAffected if The device is not made by Samsung, as this vulnerability specifically affects Samsung devices
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Confirm Android version is affectedCheck the Android version in Settings > About Phone or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADBAffected if The Android version is 7.0, 7.1.0, 7.1.1, or 7.1.2 - other versions are not affected
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Verify system_server crash occurrencesCheck device logs (logcat) or bug reports for instances of 'system_server' process crashing with NullPointerException related to Intent handlingAffected if Repeated system_server crashes with NullPointerException are occurring, indicating the vulnerability may be triggered
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Check security patch levelCheck the Android security patch level in Settings > About Phone > Security patch level or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADBAffected if The security patch level is earlier than the patch that addresses this CVE, meaning the fix is not applied
A Samsung device running Android 7.0-7.1.2 with system_server crashes and missing the relevant security patch 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 dataThis vulnerability requires a firmware update from Samsung that adds proper exception handling for Intents in system_server. Users should apply monthly security patches from Samsung.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-18663 — 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-2017-18663 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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