dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2018-21050

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-04-08
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 N(7.x) and O(8.X) (Exynos chipsets) software. There is a Buffer overflow in the esecomm Trustlet, leading to arbitrary code execution. The Samsung ID is SVE-2018-12852 (October 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 confidence

Buffer overflow vulnerability in the esecomm Trustlet (trusted execution environment component) on Samsung mobile devices running Android N (7.x) and O (8.X) with Exynos chipsets. The overflow allows arbitrary code execution in the TEE context, potentially bypassing security boundaries designed to protect sensitive operations like cryptographic key handling.

MitigationApply Samsung's October 2018 security update (SVE-2018-12852) to all affected devices. Identify all fleet devices with Exynos chipsets running N/O OS versions and prioritize patching.

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:= 7.0= 7.1.0= 7.1.1= 7.1.2= 8.0= 8.1

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. Confirm Exynos chipset presence
    Check device specifications or run 'getprop ro.hardware' or 'getprop ro.board.platform' in ADB shell. Look for Exynos-related identifiers.
    Affected if Device does not use an Exynos chipset (other chipsets like Snapdragon are not affected)
  2. Verify Android OS version
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' in ADB shell or check Settings > About Phone > Android version.
    Affected if Android version is 7.0, 7.1.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, or 8.1 (versions outside this range are not affected)
  3. Check if esecomm Trustlet is present
    Inspect /vendor/bin/esed or /system/bin/esecomm daemon processes via 'ps -A | grep -i esec' or check for the trustlet binary in /vendor/firmware/ directory.
    Affected if The esecomm Trustlet component exists and is running (absence means the attack surface does not exist)
  4. Verify TEE is active
    Check TEE status via 'dmesg | grep -i tee' or inspect /sys/class/misc/tee* entries. Confirm the Trustonic or TEE daemon is loaded.
    Affected if TEE is active and handling secure operations (the vulnerability only applies when TEE is engaged)
  5. Confirm security patch level
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' in ADB shell to retrieve the installed security patch date.
    Affected if Patch level is earlier than October 2018 (SVE-2018-12852)

A device is affected if it uses an Exynos chipset, runs Android 7.x or 8.x, has the esecomm Trustlet present with TEE active, and has not received the October 2018 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 Samsung's October 2018 security update (SVE-2018-12852) to all affected devices. Identify all fleet devices with Exynos chipsets running N/O OS versions and prioritize patching.

Recommended fix High confidence

October 2018 Android Security Patch Level or later (SVE-2018-12852)

  1. 1. Check current Android security patch level on the device: Settings > About Phone > Security patch level
  2. 2. Verify if the device has received the October 2018 security patch level or later
  3. 3. If not patched, check for system updates: Settings > System > Software Update > Download and install
  4. 4. If OTA update is unavailable, contact Samsung customer support or your device carrier for firmware update
  5. 5. Alternatively, if the device is no longer supported, consider upgrading to a newer device that receives active security updates
Caveat Devices running Android 7.x may no longer receive security updates; some carriers may not provide the update for all models

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-21050 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2018-21050 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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