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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2018-21063

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 M(6.0), N(7.x), and O(8.x) (Exynos chipsets) software. Keymaster has an architectural problem because tlApi in TEE is not properly protected. The Samsung ID is SVE-2018-11792 (August 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 · moderate confidence

Vulnerability in Samsung Keymaster on Exynos-powered devices (M/N/O versions) where the Trusted Execution Environment's tlApi is not properly protected, allowing potential compromise of cryptographic key storage and operations.

MitigationApply Samsung security updates (SVE-2018-11792) to affected devices; organizations should identify and inventory Exynos-based Samsung devices on M/N/O firmware 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:= 6.0= 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 device is Samsung Exynos-powered
    Check device specifications in Settings > About Phone, or run 'getprop ro.hardware' or 'getprop ro.product.board' to identify Exynos chipset
    Affected if Device uses Samsung Exynos processor (vs Qualcomm Snapdragon or other)
  2. Check Android version
    Navigate to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release'
    Affected if Version equals 6.0, 7.0, 7.1.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, or 8.1 (these correspond to M, N, and O firmware)
  3. Verify Keymaster TEE status
    Check /vendor/etc/init.rc or /system/etc/init.rc for Keymaster HAL service definitions; examine 'dmesg' or 'logcat' for TEE-related errors or exposed tlApi messages
    Affected if Keymaster HAL runs without proper TEE isolation or tlApi protection is exposed

If the device is an Exynos-powered Samsung running Android 6.0 through 8.1, the TEE/keymaster is likely vulnerable to this CVE.

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 security updates (SVE-2018-11792) to affected devices; organizations should identify and inventory Exynos-based Samsung devices on M/N/O firmware versions and prioritize patching.

Recommended fix High confidence

Samsung Android Security Patch Level August 2018 or later (SVE-2018-11792)

  1. Check for and install the latest Samsung security patch update on the affected device. Go to Settings > Security > Security update or Settings > About phone > Software update.
  2. Ensure the device is running the most recent Android version available for that hardware model.
  3. If the device is no longer supported by Samsung (no longer receiving monthly security updates), consider replacing the device with a model that still receives security updates.
  4. For enterprise environments, use MDM solutions to enforce policy compliance and ensure all enrolled devices have applied the latest Samsung updates.
Caveat Devices that are end-of-life and no longer receive Samsung security updates cannot be patched and must be replaced

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,940
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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-2018-21063 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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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