CVE-2018-21079
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 L(5.x), M(6.0), N(7.x), and O(8.0) software. There is a kernel pointer leak in the USB gadget driver. The Samsung ID is SVE-2017-10993 (March 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 confidenceA kernel pointer leak vulnerability exists in the USB gadget driver on Samsung mobile devices running Android L (5.x), M (6.0), N (7.x), and O (8.0). The leak exposes kernel memory addresses, potentially allowing attackers to bypass KASLR (kernel address space layout randomization) and develop more severe exploits.
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= 5.0= 5.0.1= 5.0.2= 5.1= 5.1.0= 5.1.1= 6.0= 7.0= 7.1.0= 7.1.1= 7.1.2= 8.0CVSS 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
- 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 manufacturer is SamsungCheck device info or settings to verify the device is a Samsung mobile device. This vulnerability exists only in Samsung's proprietary USB gadget driver implementation.Affected if The device is NOT a Samsung mobile device - the flaw is specific to Samsung's kernel driver.
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Check Android versionGo to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB. Compare the version to the affected list: 5.0, 5.0.1, 5.0.2, 5.1, 5.1.0, 5.1.1, 6.0, 7.0, 7.1.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, or 8.0.Affected if The Android version matches one of the affected versions listed in the CVE.
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Verify USB gadget functionality is accessibleEnsure the device has USB gadget driver support enabled. This is typically present when USB debugging, USB tethering, or USB accessory mode is in use. Check via 'ls /sys/class/android_usb' or similar path if available on the device.Affected if USB gadget driver is present and accessible on the device - the kernel pointer leak occurs within this driver component.
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Check Samsung security patch levelCheck Settings > About Phone > Security patch level, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADB. Compare the date against Samsung's SVE-2017-10993 fix release.Affected if The security patch level is earlier than the Samsung update that addresses SVE-2017-10993, indicating the fix has not been applied.
A Samsung mobile device running Android 5.x through 8.0 with an unpatched security level and accessible USB gadget driver is affected by this kernel pointer leak vulnerability.
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's monthly security updates or later OS version upgrades that include the fix for SVE-2017-10993. Since this is a kernel-level flaw in Samsung's proprietary driver, no manual configuration can remediate it; only vendor-provided firmware patches address the issue.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-21079 — 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-2018-21079 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
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