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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2017-18691

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-04-07
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
An issue was discovered on Samsung mobile devices with M(6.0) and N(7.0) (Exynos8890 chipsets) software. There are multiple Buffer Overflows in TSP sysfs cmd_store. The Samsung ID is SVE-2016-7500 (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 · moderate confidence

Multiple buffer overflow vulnerabilities exist in the Touch Screen Panel (TSP) driver sysfs cmd_store interface on Samsung devices with Exynos 8890 chipsets running Android M(6.0) and N(7.0). The cmd_store function improperly handles input from userspace, allowing writing beyond allocated buffer boundaries in the kernel driver. This could enable arbitrary code execution with kernel privileges.

MitigationApply the vendor patch (SVE-2016-7500) released January 2017 via official Samsung firmware update. Users of affected devices should ensure they are running the latest security patch level.

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
AndroidOperating system
Affected:= 6.0= 7.0

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify Android version
    Check if the device is running Android 6.0 (M) or Android 7.0 (N) by querying the system property 'ro.build.version.release'
    Affected if Android version equals 6.0 or 7.0
  2. Identify the chipset
    Determine if the device uses an Exynos 8890 chipset by checking 'ro.hardware' or 'ro.chipset' system properties, or by examining /proc/cpuinfo for the processor model
    Affected if Device uses Exynos 8890 chipset
  3. Confirm device vendor
    Verify the device is a Samsung product by checking 'ro.product.brand' or 'ro.manufacturer' system properties
    Affected if Device is manufactured by Samsung
  4. Check TSP driver sysfs interface
    Locate the Touch Screen Panel driver sysfs entries, typically under /sys/class/input/ or /sys/devices/ - look for directories containing 'tsp' or 'touchscreen' with write-enabled attributes; the vulnerable cmd_store function is accessed via sysfs nodes that accept user input
    Affected if TSP driver sysfs interface exists and is writable by the user and the cmd_store function is present in the driver
  5. Verify patch level
    Check the security patch date via 'ro.build.version.security_patch' system property - the fix was released January 2017 as part of Samsung's SVE-2016-7500
    Affected if Security patch level is earlier than January 2017 or not set

Device is affected if it is a Samsung device with Exynos 8890 chipset running Android 6.0 or 7.0, has an accessible TSP driver sysfs cmd_store interface, and lacks the January 2017 security update.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the vendor patch (SVE-2016-7500) released January 2017 via official Samsung firmware update. Users of affected devices should ensure they are running the latest security patch level.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Android 8.0+ with latest Samsung security patch level

  1. Identify the specific Samsung device model affected (devices with Exynos8890 chipset running Android 6.0 or 7.0)
  2. Check Samsung's security website (security.samsungmobile.com) for the SVE-2016-7500 bulletin for specific model updates
  3. Upgrade the device to the latest available Samsung firmware that includes the security patch for this vulnerability
  4. If official firmware is unavailable, consider replacing the device with a model still receiving security updates
  5. Ensure the device is running Android 8.0 or higher which has longer security support
Caveat Upgrading may result in loss of custom firmware or root access; some older apps may be incompatible with newer Android versions

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation40.0 h
  • Testing24.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
80.0 hours of engineering $13,840
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2017-18691 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data