CVE-2017-18687
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), L(5.0/5.1), M(6.0), and N(7.0) software. An attacker can obtain the full pathnames of sdcard files by reading the system protected log upon reception of a certain intent. The Samsung ID is SVE-2016-7183 (January 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 confidenceThis information disclosure vulnerability in Samsung mobile devices (Android KK 4.4 through N 7.0) allows an unprivileged application to obtain full pathnames of files on the sdcard by reading system-protected logs that are populated upon reception of a specific Android intent. The attacker does not require special permissions to read this protected log entry.
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= 4.4= 5.0= 5.1= 6.0= 7.0CVSS 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
- Low
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
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 is a Samsung mobile deviceCheck the device manufacturer and model through Settings > About Phone > Manufacturer or by running 'getprop ro.product.manufacturer' via ADBAffected if The device is not manufactured by Samsung
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Check the Android OS versionNavigate to Settings > About Phone > Android version or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADBAffected if The Android version is 4.4, 5.0, 5.1, 6.0, or 7.0
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Verify Samsung patch level for CVE-2017-18687Check Settings > About Phone > Security patch date or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADB. The patch was released as part of Samsung SVE-2016-7183Affected if The security patch level is earlier than the Samsung update containing SVE-2016-7183, or the patch date cannot be verified
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Confirm log access vulnerability existsThis requires examining whether an unprivileged application can read system-protected log entries generated by the specific Android intent. Without the patch, logs accessible via 'logcat' or the RingBuffer API may contain sdcard path information that should be restrictedAffected if Unprivileged apps can read system-protected log entries containing file path information
A Samsung mobile device running Android 4.4 through 7.0 without the SVE-2016-7183 patch is affected by this information disclosure 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 dataDeploy Samsung firmware updates containing the SVE-2016-7183 patch to affected devices. For enterprise fleets, verify device patch levels through mobile device management (MDM) tooling and ensure compliance with organizational patch policies.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-18687 — 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-2017-18687 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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