CVE-2019-16400
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 · uneditedSamsung Galaxy S8 plus (Android version: 8.0.0, Build Number: R16NW.G955USQU5CRG3, Baseband Vendor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, Baseband: G955USQU5CRG3), Samsung Galaxy S3 (Android version: 4.3, Build Number: JSS15J.I9300XXUGND5, Baseband Vendor: Samsung Exynos 4412, Baseband: I9300XXUGNA8), and Samsung Galaxy Note 2 (Android version: 4.3, Build Number: JSS15J.I9300XUGND5, Baseband Vendor: Samsung Exynos 4412, Baseband: N7100DDUFND1) devices allow attackers to send AT commands over Bluetooth, resulting in several Denial of Service (DoS) attacks.
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 confidenceSamsung Galaxy S8+, S3, and Note 2 devices accept unauthenticated AT commands over Bluetooth, allowing attackers within Bluetooth range to send malicious commands that cause device crashes or denial of service.
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 dataall versionsall versionsall versionsCVSS 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
- Adjacent
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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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Identify your Samsung device modelGo to Settings > About Phone > Model Number to confirm the exact modelAffected if Model number is SM-G955 (Galaxy S8+), SM-I9300 (Galaxy S3), or SM-N7100 (Galaxy Note 2)
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Verify Bluetooth is enabledCheck Settings > Bluetooth or swipe down from the top of the screen to see if Bluetooth icon is activeAffected if Bluetooth is turned on and the device is discoverable to nearby devices
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Check Bluetooth visibility settingsGo to Settings > Bluetooth > Device name - ensure the device is not set to 'Visible' or 'Discoverable' to all nearby Bluetooth devicesAffected if Bluetooth visibility is set to 'Visible to all' or 'All devices' and RFCOMM channel is open
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Confirm no RFCOMM/AT command exposureUse a Bluetooth scanner app (such as Bluetooth LE Scanner or similar) on a separate device to see if the target device accepts RFCOMM connections without authenticationAffected if The device accepts incoming Bluetooth connections on RFCOMM channels without requiring pairing/authentication
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Document firmware version for inventoryGo to Settings > About Phone > Software Information > Build Number to record the firmware versionAffected if Any firmware version is installed on an affected model (all versions are vulnerable)
You are affected if you own a Samsung Galaxy S8+, Galaxy S3, or Galaxy Note 2 with Bluetooth enabled and discoverable, as these devices accept unauthenticated AT commands over Bluetooth from any nearby attacker.
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 security firmware updates if available; if no patch exists, replace affected devices or implement compensating controls such as restricting Bluetooth usage in sensitive areas.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-16400 — 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-2019-16400 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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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.
- 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