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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2018-21072

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(8.0) (Exynos chipsets) software. A kernel driver allows out-of-bounds Read/Write operations and possibly arbitrary code execution. The Samsung ID is SVE-2018-11358 (May 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

A kernel driver vulnerability in Samsung mobile devices running Android M(6.0), N(7.x), and O(8.0) on Exynos chipsets allows out-of-bounds read and write operations, potentially enabling arbitrary code execution with kernel-level privileges.

MitigationApply Samsung security firmware updates (SVE-2018-11358) to patch the vulnerable kernel driver; users should verify their devices are running the latest Samsung security patch level.

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

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. Identify the device manufacturer
    Check Settings > About Phone > Manufacturer or run 'getprop ro.product.manufacturer' via ADB
    Affected if The device is not a Samsung device, then it is not affected by this specific vulnerability
  2. Verify the chipset is Exynos
    Check Settings > About Phone > Chipset or run 'getprop ro.hardware' or 'cat /proc/cpuinfo' via ADB
    Affected if The device does not use an Exynos chipset, then it is not affected
  3. Check the Android version
    Check Settings > About Phone > Android version or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB
    Affected if The version is 6.0, 7.0, 7.1.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, or 8.0 - if so, the device falls within the affected version range
  4. Confirm the kernel driver is present
    Examine the running kernel modules or drivers related to the Samsung Exynos subsystem; specific vulnerable driver name is not publicly disclosed but is part of the Samsung kernel image
    Affected if The vulnerable kernel driver is loaded and the above version/chipset conditions are met, the device is affected

The device is affected only if it is a Samsung device running on an Exynos chipset with Android version 6.0, 7.0, 7.1.0-7.1.2, or 8.0, with the vulnerable kernel driver present.

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 firmware updates (SVE-2018-11358) to patch the vulnerable kernel driver; users should verify their devices are running the latest Samsung security patch level.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest Samsung security patch (May 2018 or later) - Samsung typically bundles this fix in their monthly security updates. For affected devices, the fix is included in the May 2018 security patch level or later.

  1. Check your Samsung device model and confirm it uses an Exynos chipset (this vulnerability only affects Exynos variants)
  2. Navigate to Settings > About Phone > Software Update on your Samsung device
  3. Ensure the device is running the latest available security patch level
  4. If an update is available, download and install it immediately
  5. For older devices that no longer receive official updates, consider migrating to a newer device that still receives security support
Caveat Upgrading to a newer Android version may remove support for some legacy apps or features; some older devices may not receive the update and will require replacement

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,970
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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-2018-21072 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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