CVE-2019-20542
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(7.1), O(8.x), and P(9.0) (Exynos chipsets) software. There is a stack overflow in the kernel driver. The Samsung ID is SVE-2019-15034 (November 2019).
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 confidenceA stack overflow vulnerability exists in the kernel driver of Samsung mobile devices running Android N(7.1), O(8.x), and P(9.0) on Exynos chipsets. This kernel-level flaw could allow a local attacker to escalate privileges and potentially achieve code execution with elevated kernel privileges.
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= 7.1= 8.0= 8.1= 9.0CVSS 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:3.1/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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Confirm Samsung device brandCheck the device manufacturer by viewing system settings under 'About phone' > 'Manufacturer' or by running 'getprop ro.product.manufacturer' via ADBAffected if Device is not manufactured by Samsung, as this vulnerability affects only Samsung mobile devices
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Verify Exynos chipsetCheck the processor/SoC information in device settings under 'About phone' > 'CPU' or by running 'getprop ro.hardware' or 'cat /proc/cpuinfo' via ADBAffected if Chipset is not Exynos-based, as this vulnerability targets only the Exynos chipset kernel driver
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Check Android versionView Android version in settings under 'About phone' > 'Android version' or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADBAffected if Version is exactly 7.1, 8.0, 8.1, or 9.0 - these are the affected versions listed in the CVE
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Verify security patch levelCheck the security patch date in settings under 'About phone' > 'Security patch level' or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADBAffected if The patch level is earlier than the SVE-2019-15034 vendor fix, meaning the vendor-specific security update has not been applied
User is affected if the device is a Samsung model with an Exynos chipset running Android 7.1, 8.0, 8.1, or 9.0 and the security patch level does not include the SVE-2019-15034 vendor fix.
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 security patch SVE-2019-15034 by updating affected Samsung devices to the latest Samsung security patch level; until patched, minimize exposure by avoiding untrusted applications and networks.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,392.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-20542 — 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-2019-20542 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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