CVE-2018-21044
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) and O(8.0) software. The sem Trustlet has a buffer overflow that leads to arbitrary TEE code execution. The Samsung IDs are SVE-2018-13230, SVE-2018-13231, SVE-2018-13232, SVE-2018-13233 (December 2018).
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 confidenceA buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the sem Trustlet (a Trusted Execution Environment application) on Samsung mobile devices running Android N (7.x) and O (8.0). This flaw allows an attacker to achieve arbitrary code execution within the TEE, bypassing hardware-backed security boundaries.
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= 7.1.2= 8.0CVSS 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
- 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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Check Android versionGo to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADBAffected if Version is 7.0, 7.1.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, or 8.0
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Confirm device is SamsungGo to Settings > About Phone > Manufacturer, or run 'getprop ro.product.manufacturer' via ADBAffected if Manufacturer is Samsung (the sem Trustlet is Samsung-specific)
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Verify TEE is presentRun 'getprop ro.trustonic.teed.status' or check /vendor/bin/teed for existence via ADB shellAffected if TEE status returns 'enabled' or /vendor/bin/teed exists (the vulnerability resides in the TEE)
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Identify sem TrustletCheck for /vendor/firmware/semTrustlet or run 'ls /vendor/firmware/*sem*' via ADB shellAffected if The sem Trustlet binary is present on the device
User is affected if running Android 7.0-8.0 on a Samsung device with an active TEE containing the sem Trustlet component.
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 Samsung security patches released after December 2018 (SVE-2018-13230 through SVE-2018-13233). Devices that cannot receive firmware updates should be considered at high risk for TEE compromise.
December 2018 security patch level or later for affected Samsung devices (Android N 7.x and O 8.0)
- 1. Navigate to Settings on the Samsung device
- 2. Select 'About phone' or 'About device'
- 3. Tap on 'Software update' or 'System updates'
- 4. Check for and install any available updates
- 5. Ensure the device receives the December 2018 security patch level or later (SVE-2018-13230, SVE-2018-13231, SVE-2018-13232, SVE-2018-13233)
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,776.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-21044 — 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-2018-21044 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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