CVE-2019-1985
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 · uneditedIn findAvailSpellCheckerLocked of TextServicesManagerService.java, there is a possible way to bypass the warning dialog when selecting an untrusted spell checker due to a permissions bypass. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android-7.0 Android-7.1.1 Android-7.1.2 Android-8.0Android ID: A-118694079
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 confidenceIn findAvailSpellCheckerLocked of TextServicesManagerService.java, a permissions bypass allows bypassing the warning dialog when selecting an untrusted spell checker. This enables local escalation of privilege without additional execution privileges or user interaction, affecting Android 7.0-8.0.
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= 7.1.1= 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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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Check Android versionGo to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shellAffected if The version is 7.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, or 8.0
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Check security patch levelGo to Settings > About Phone > Security patch level, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADB shellAffected if The patch level is earlier than the vendor fix date (requires vendor-specific knowledge)
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Verify spell checker is enabledGo to Settings > Language & Input > Spell Checker, or inspect 'secure settings' content provider for 'spell_checker_enabled'Affected if A spell checker is enabled and the device is on an affected Android version
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Check for configured spell checkersRun 'settings get secure selected_spell_checker' via ADB shell to see the selected spell checkerAffected if A spell checker is selected on an affected Android version version
The device is affected if it runs Android 7.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, or 8.0 and has a spell checker enabled, because the vulnerability allows bypassing the warning dialog for untrusted spell checkers in TextServicesManagerService.
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 vendor-provided Android security patch for this vulnerability. The fix requires modifying the permission validation logic in TextServicesManagerService to properly enforce the warning dialog for untrusted spell checkers.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-1985 — 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-2019-1985 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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