CVE-2018-21047
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 O(8.x) software. There is a Factory Reset Protection (FRP) bypass via the voice assistant because Internet access begins before the Setup Wizard finishes. The Samsung ID is SVE-2018-12894 (November 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 confidenceThis is a Factory Reset Protection (FRP) bypass vulnerability in Samsung mobile devices running Android O (8.x). The issue allows bypassing FRP security via the voice assistant because Internet access becomes available before the Setup Wizard completes, enabling an attacker to exploit the voice assistant during the initial device setup phase.
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= 8.0= 8.1CVSS 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
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/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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Identify device manufacturerCheck if the device is a Samsung model by reviewing the device settings under 'About phone' > 'Model number' or using 'getprop ro.product.brand' in ADB shellAffected if Device is a Samsung mobile device
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Check Android versionNavigate to Settings > About phone > Android version or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' in ADB shellAffected if Android version is 8.0 or 8.1 exactly (not 8.0.x or 8.1.x variants)
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Verify security patch levelCheck Settings > About phone > Security patch level or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' in ADB shellAffected if Security patch level is earlier than the SVE-2018-12894 fix date (Samsung's specific security update for this vulnerability)
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Confirm FRP lock statusAfter factory reset, proceed through Setup Wizard and verify FRP is enforced by attempting to bypass the Google account verification stepAffected if FRP lock can be bypassed during initial setup wizard via voice assistant exploit
Device is affected if it is a Samsung model running Android 8.0 or 8.1 with a security patch level predating the SVE-2018-12894 update, allowing FRP bypass during the Setup Wizard phase.
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 dataApply Samsung's firmware/security update (SVE-2018-12894) to affected devices. Ensure devices are fully updated before deployment and verify FRP is functioning correctly after the update.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-21047 — 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-2018-21047 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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