CVE-2019-20551
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), O(8.x), and P(9.0) software. Attackers can bypass Factory Reset Protection (FRP) via a Class 0 Type Message. The Samsung ID is SVE-2019-14941 (October 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 confidenceAttackers can bypass Factory Reset Protection (FRP) on Samsung mobile devices running Android N (7.x), O (8.x), and P (9.0) by sending a Class 0 Type Message (flash SMS), which displays without user interaction and allows unauthorized device reset or recovery, bypassing this anti-theft security mechanism.
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= 7.1.2= 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
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 device is a Samsung mobile deviceCheck the device manufacturer in Settings > About Phone > Manufacturer or BrandAffected if Device is not manufactured by Samsung (this vulnerability only affects Samsung devices)
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Check Android versionNavigate to Settings > About Phone > Android version. Compare your installed version against the affected ranges: 7.0, 7.1.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, 8.1, 9.0Affected if Android version matches 7.0, 7.1.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, 8.1, or 9.0
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Verify security patch levelGo to Settings > About Phone > Security patch level. Check if the patch date is earlier than October 2019Affected if Security patch level is before October 2019 (the patch SVE-2019-14941 was released in October 2019)
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Confirm FRP is enabledFactory Reset Protection is typically enabled by default on affected Android versions. Check Settings > Google > Account > Security for FRP status or verify in Settings > Lock screen and security > Find My MobileAffected if FRP is disabled (unlikely on affected devices, but would mean the bypass has no target)
A Samsung device is affected if it runs Android 7.0-9.0 and has a security patch level earlier than October 2019, with FRP enabled.
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 dataUsers should update their Samsung devices to the October 2019 security patch (SVE-2019-14941) or later to receive the vendor fix for this vulnerability.
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- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-20551 — 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-2019-20551 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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