CVE-2018-21089
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) (MT6755/MT6757 Mediatek models) software. Bootloader has an integer overflow that leads to arbitrary code execution via the download offset control. The Samsung ID is SVE-2017-10732 (January 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 confidenceInteger overflow vulnerability in the Samsung bootloader on devices with N(7.x) Android using MT6755/MT6757 Mediatek chipsets. The flaw allows arbitrary code execution through manipulation of the download offset control, providing execution at the highest privilege level in the boot process.
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= 7.1.2CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify Android version is affectedCheck the device settings under Settings > About Phone > Android version. Confirm the version is 7.0, 7.1.0, 7.1.1, or 7.1.2.Affected if Android version is exactly 7.0, 7.1.0, 7.1.1, or 7.1.2
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Confirm device uses Mediatek MT6755 or MT6757 chipsetUse ADB to run 'adb shell cat /proc/cpuinfo' or check device specifications from the manufacturer. Look for MT6755 or MT6757 in the hardware or model information.Affected if The device processor is an MT6755 or MT6757 Mediatek chipset
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Verify this is a Samsung deviceCheck the device model through Settings > About Phone > Model number, or run 'adb shell getprop ro.product.brand' to confirm the manufacturer is Samsung.Affected if The device is manufactured by Samsung
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Identify bootloader version and patch stateBoot into fastboot mode (power + volume down) and run 'fastboot getvar all' or use manufacturer-specific tools to query the bootloader version. Compare against Samsung SVE-2017-10732 patch level.Affected if The bootloader version predates the SVE-2017-10732 fix and the device meets the above criteria
A device is affected if it is a Samsung device running Android 7.0-7.1.2 with an MT6755 or MT6757 Mediatek chipset and has a bootloader version prior to the SVE-2017-10732 patch.
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 vendor firmware updates from Samsung that address SVE-2017-10732. Since this is a bootloader-level flaw, users must obtain and flash the patched firmware; workarounds are not available.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation2.0 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-2018-21089 — 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-2018-21089 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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