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Exynos Smp1300Hardware / appliance · Samsung

CVE-2019-20566

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-03-24
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 any (before September 2019 for SMP1300 Exynos modem chipsets) software. Attackers can trigger stack corruption in the Shannon modem via a crafted RP-Originator/Destination address. The Samsung ID is SVE-2019-14858 (September 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 confidence

Stack corruption vulnerability in the Shannon modem (SMP1300 Exynos chipset) allows remote code execution via crafted RP-Originator/Destination address fields, likely in LTE/5G RRC signaling. The vulnerability is in modem firmware and can be triggered without user interaction.

MitigationUpdate Samsung mobile devices to September 2019 or later security patch level containing SVE-2019-14858 to remediate the vulnerability in the modem firmware.

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
Exynos Smp1300Hardware / appliance
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 device manufacturer and chipset
    Check if the device is a Samsung phone using an Exynos chipset. On Android, run 'getprop ro.product.brand' and 'getprop ro.board.platform' or check device specifications.
    Affected if Device is a Samsung model with Exynos (SMP1300) chipset - all such devices are affected
  2. Determine modem firmware version
    Access the modem/baseband firmware version via 'getprop gsm.version.baseband' or in Settings > About Phone > Software Information > Baseband version.
    Affected if Any SMP1300 Exynos modem firmware version is present, as all versions are vulnerable
  3. Check mobile network mode
    Verify the device is capable of LTE or 5G connectivity by checking if the modem supports these radio technologies via 'getprop ro.telephony.default_network' or network settings.
    Affected if Device supports LTE/5G - the vulnerability is triggerable via LTE/5G RRC signaling
  4. Verify security patch level
    Check the installed Android security patch level via 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' or in Settings > About Phone > Software Information > Android security patch level.
    Affected if Security patch level is earlier than September 2019 - these versions lack the SVE-2019-14858 fix

A Samsung device with an Exynos SMP1300 chipset running a security patch level before September 2019 is affected by this modem firmware vulnerability.

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

Update Samsung mobile devices to September 2019 or later security patch level containing SVE-2019-14858 to remediate the vulnerability in the modem firmware.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Any Samsung firmware release for Exynos SMP1300 modem dated September 2019 or later that includes the SVE-2019-14858 patch

  1. Identify the current firmware version of the Exynos SMP1300 modem chipset
  2. Contact Samsung or your device manufacturer to obtain the September 2019 or later security update that addresses SVE-2019-14858
  3. Apply the firmware update through the standard Samsung firmware update mechanism
  4. Verify the modem firmware has been updated to a version released after September 2019
Caveat Modem firmware updates typically require device downtime and should be performed in a controlled environment; ensure backup of configuration before applying

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

Fix this in Exynos Smp1300 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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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-2019-20566 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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