CVE-2018-21059
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.x) software. There is Clipboard content visibility in the locked state via the emergency contact picker. The Samsung ID is SVE-2018-11806 (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 confidenceOn Samsung mobile devices running Android N (7.x) and O (8.x), the emergency contact picker allows clipboard content to be visible even when the device is in a locked state. This bypasses the expected screen lock protection, potentially exposing sensitive data copied to the clipboard to anyone with physical access to the locked device.
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= 8.0= 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
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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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Confirm device is a Samsung modelCheck device manufacturer in Settings > About Phone > Manufacturer or model nameAffected if Device is not a Samsung manufacturer (vulnerability is specific to Samsung implementation)
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Check Android versionGo to Settings > About Phone > Android version and verify the exact version numberAffected if Version is 7.0, 7.1.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, or 8.1 (exact match to affected versions)
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Copy non-sensitive text to clipboardCopy any text to the device clipboard via long-press in any text field and selecting CopyAffected if Clipboard functionality works (required for the vulnerability to be testable)
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Test emergency contact picker visibility while lockedLock the device (press power button), then access the emergency dialer or emergency contact picker feature, and observe whether clipboard content is visible on the locked screenAffected if Clipboard text copied in step 3 is visible on the locked screen via the emergency contact picker (indicates vulnerability is present)
User is affected if the device is a Samsung running Android 7.0-8.1 and clipboard content is visible in the emergency contact picker when the screen is locked.
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 the Samsung security patch (SVE-2018-11806) via system software updates. Users should avoid copying sensitive information to clipboard on affected devices until the patch is applied.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 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-2018-21059 — 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-2018-21059 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data