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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2018-21090

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 software through 2017-11-03 (S.LSI modem chipsets). The Exynos modem chipset has a baseband buffer overflow. The Samsung ID is SVE-2017-10745 (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 · moderate confidence

Buffer overflow vulnerability in the Exynos modem chipset's baseband processing code on Samsung mobile devices. The overflow occurs in the baseband firmware, which handles cellular communications, potentially allowing remote code execution via the cellular network without user interaction.

MitigationApply Samsung-provided firmware/security updates for affected devices; organizations should inventory and prioritize patching mobile devices using S.LSI modem chipsets manufactured prior to late 2017.

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:all versions

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 and model
    Check the device Settings > About phone > Manufacturer and Model. This vulnerability affects Samsung mobile devices with Exynos (S.LSI) modem chipsets.
    Affected if The device is not a Samsung device or does not use an Exynos/S.LSI baseband chipset
  2. Verify the device uses an Exynos/S.LSI modem chipset
    Check the device specifications or use a system information app to identify the modem chipset. On Samsung devices, this may be visible in Settings > About phone > SIM status or through diagnostic codes like *#0*# or *#197328640#.
    Affected if The device uses a Qualcomm or other non-Exynos modem chipset (these are not affected by this specific CVE)
  3. Determine the baseband firmware version
    Navigate to Settings > About phone > SIM status or About phone > Mobile networks > Service provider. Look for the baseband or modem firmware version field. On Samsung Exynos devices, this typically displays as a build string.
    Affected if The baseband firmware version cannot be retrieved or confirmed, indicating the device may have a non-standard or locked modem
  4. Compare the device manufacturing timeframe
    Check the device's original release date or manufacture date. The vulnerability affects S.LSI modem chipsets manufactured prior to late 2017, according to Samsung's remediation timeline.
    Affected if The device was manufactured prior to late 2017 and uses an Exynos/S.LSI modem chipset, placing it in the affected population

The user is affected if they own a Samsung mobile device with an Exynos/S.LSI baseband modem chipset manufactured prior to late 2017, as the buffer overflow vulnerability in the baseband firmware can allow remote code execution via the cellular network.

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-provided firmware/security updates for affected devices; organizations should inventory and prioritize patching mobile devices using S.LSI modem chipsets manufactured prior to late 2017.

Recommended fix High confidence

Samsung Security Patch Level January 2018 or later (SVE-2017-10745)

  1. Check if your Samsung device has a security patch level dated January 2018 or later applied. Go to Settings > About Phone > Software Information > Security patch level.
  2. If the device does not have the January 2018 security patch or later, check for a system software update via Settings > Software Update > Download and install.
  3. If no update is available through OTA, contact your device carrier or Samsung customer support for firmware update availability.
  4. For devices that no longer receive security updates, consider migrating to a newer device that maintains active software support.
Caveat Older devices may have reached end-of-life and no longer receive security patches

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation16.0 h
  • Implementation24.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
60.0 hours of engineering $10,760
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2018-21090 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