CVE-2018-21083
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 M(6.0), N(7.x), and O(8.0) (Exynos or Qualcomm chipsets) software. There is information disclosure (of a kernel address) via trustonic_tee. The Samsung ID is SVE-2017-11175 (February 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 confidenceThis vulnerability in the trustonic_tee (Trusted Execution Environment) component on Samsung mobile devices allows unprivileged attackers to leak kernel memory addresses. The kernel address disclosure enables attackers to bypass KASLR (Kernel Address Space Layout Randomization), making subsequent exploitation significantly easier. Affected devices run Android M(6.0), N(7.x), or O(8.0) on either Exynos or Qualcomm chipsets.
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= 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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Identify Android versionGo to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run `getprop ro.build.version.release` via ADBAffected if The version is 6.0, 7.0, 7.1.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, or 8.0 (exact matches as listed in affected versions)
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Confirm Samsung deviceCheck the device model via Settings > About Phone > Model number, or run `getprop ro.product.model` via ADBAffected if The device is a Samsung mobile device (the vulnerability applies specifically to Samsung implementations)
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Verify trustonic_tee is presentCheck for TEE daemon or trustonic components in running processes via `ps | grep -i tee` or `getprop | grep -i tee` via ADB, or inspect /sys/kernel/debug/tee if availableAffected if The trustonic_tee TEE component is running or present on the device
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Check Samsung security patch levelGo to Settings > About Phone > Software information > Security patch level, or run `getprop ro.build.version.security_patch` via ADBAffected if The security patch level is earlier than February 2018 (the patch SVE-2017-11175 was released in February 2018)
The device is affected if it is a Samsung device running Android 6.0, 7.0, 7.1.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, or 8.0 with the trustonic_tee component present and a security patch level before February 2018.
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 update (SVE-2017-11175, February 2018) which patches the trustonic_tee information disclosure. Enterprise device fleets should ensure all affected devices receive this vendor patch.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-21083 — 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-2018-21083 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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