CVE-2018-21055
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(7.0) (Qualcomm models using MSM8996 chipsets) software. A device can be rooted with a custom image to execute arbitrary scripts in the INIT context. The Samsung ID is SVE-2018-11940 (September 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 vulnerability in Samsung mobile devices (N/7.0 on Qualcomm MSM8996 chipsets) allows rooting via a custom image that executes arbitrary scripts in the INIT context, the earliest boot stage with the highest privilege level. This bypasses Android's security model by running code with root privileges before the full OS security controls initialize.
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= 7.0CVSS 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 ADB shellAffected if Version is exactly 7.0 (Nougat)
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Verify device is SamsungCheck Settings > About Phone > Manufacturer, or run 'getprop ro.product.manufacturer' via ADB shellAffected if Manufacturer returns Samsung or any Samsung device model
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Identify chipset modelRun 'getprop ro.hardware' or check /proc/cpuinfo via ADB shell to confirm the Qualcomm MSM8996 chipsetAffected if Hardware/chipset identifier contains 'msm8996' or ' MSM8996'
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Check for bootloader unlock statusRun 'fastboot oem device-info' (device must be in fastboot mode) or check /proc/bootinfo; on some devices, 'getprop ro.boot.verifiedbootstate' shows 'green' for verified vs 'yellow' for unlockedAffected if Bootloader shows as unlocked or device shows warning screens on boot indicating custom ROM/root access is active
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Inspect for INIT script tamperingCheck /init.rc and /system/etc/init.d/ for unexpected scripts, or review /proc/1/cmdline for unexpected INIT processes via ADB shellAffected if Non-standard scripts execute in INIT context or unrecognized processes run as PID 1
Device is affected if it is a Samsung device running Android 7.0 on a Qualcomm MSM8996 chipset and shows signs of bootloader unlock or INIT-level script execution.
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 firmware updates addressing SVE-2018-11940; if unavailable, replace affected devices as they likely exceed vendor support lifecycle.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-21055 — 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-2018-21055 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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