AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2017-18692

HIGH · 8.1 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 →
90/100
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) (MSM8939, MSM8996, MSM8998, Exynos7580, Exynos8890, or Exynos8895 chipsets) software. There is a race condition, with a resultant buffer overflow, in the sec_ts touchscreen sysfs interface. The Samsung ID is SVE-2016-7501 (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 confidence

A race condition in the sec_ts touchscreen driver's sysfs interface on Samsung devices with MSM8939, MSM8996, MSM8998, Exynos7580, Exynos8890, or Exynos8895 chipsets running Android 6.0 (M) and 7.0 (N) leads to a buffer overflow vulnerability, potentially allowing memory corruption and possible code execution.

MitigationApply Samsung's security patch (SVE-2016-7501) via firmware update; the race condition requires proper synchronization (locking) in the touchscreen driver sysfs handler to prevent the buffer overflow.

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
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/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. Confirm Android version
    Check system settings or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' to verify the Android version
    Affected if Version is 6.0 (M) or 7.0 (N)
  2. Identify device chipset
    Check device specifications or run 'getprop ro.board.platform' to determine the SoC in use
    Affected if Chipset is MSM8939, MSM8996, MSM8998, Exynos7580, Exynos8890, or Exynos8895
  3. Locate sec_ts touchscreen driver
    Check for presence of sec_ts driver in kernel modules or sysfs (typically under /sys/class/input/ or /sys/devices/)
    Affected if The sec_ts touchscreen driver is loaded and the sysfs interface is accessible
  4. Verify security patch level
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' to check the installed security patch date
    Affected if Patch level is earlier than Samsung's SVE-2016-7501 fix (typically pre-December 2016) or the property is empty/unset
  5. Inspect sysfs interface for race condition exposure
    If sysfs entries exist under /sys/class/sec_ts/ or similar path, check for concurrent access patterns; the vulnerability exists if multiple processes can read/write simultaneously without locking
    Affected if The sec_ts sysfs interface is exposed and accessible without proper synchronization protections

Device is affected if running Android 6.0 or 7.0 on an affected chipset with the sec_ts driver present and a pre-patch security patch level.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply Samsung's security patch (SVE-2016-7501) via firmware update; the race condition requires proper synchronization (locking) in the touchscreen driver sysfs handler to prevent the buffer overflow.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,880
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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-2017-18692 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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
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