dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2019-20571

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 O(8.x) (with TEEGRIS) software. There is type confusion in the WVDRM Trustlet, leading to arbitrary code execution. The Samsung ID is SVE-2019-14885 (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

Type confusion vulnerability in the WVDRM Trustlet on Samsung mobile devices running Android O (8.x) with the TEEGRIS Trusted Execution Environment. This vulnerability in the secure TEE component allows arbitrary code execution with the highest privileges.

MitigationApply vendor-supplied firmware security updates from Samsung. This is a TEE/Trustlet vulnerability requiring OEM firmware patching; no workarounds are available.

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
AndroidOperating system
Affected:= 8.0= 8.1

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. Confirm device manufacturer is Samsung
    Check the device settings or use 'getprop ro.manufacturer' or 'getprop ro.product.brand' to verify the device is made by Samsung. This vulnerability only affects Samsung mobile devices.
    Affected if The device is not a Samsung product - this vulnerability only impacts Samsung devices with TEEGRIS.
  2. Check Android version is 8.0 or 8.1
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or use 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB. This vulnerability only affects Android O (8.x).
    Affected if The Android version is not 8.0 or 8.1 - versions outside this range are not affected.
  3. Verify TEEGRIS Trusted Execution Environment is present
    Check device for TEEGRIS TEE implementation. This may be visible in boot logs, tee-info, or through 'getprop ro.trustonic.tee' or similar TEE-related system properties. This vulnerability exists specifically in the TEEGRIS TEE.
    Affected if The device does not use TEEGRIS as its Trusted Execution Environment - other TEEs are not affected by this specific flaw.
  4. Identify WVDRM Trustlet presence
    Inspect the secure trustlet components on the device. The WVDRM Trustlet is the specific component with the type confusion vulnerability. This is a Samsung-specific DRM trustlet in the TEE.
    Affected if The WVDRM Trustlet is not present on the device - the vulnerability only exists when this specific trustlet is loaded.

The device is affected if it is a Samsung mobile device running Android 8.0 or 8.1 with the TEEGRIS TEE and the WVDRM Trustlet present; due to the TEE-level nature of this flaw, direct verification requires Samsung OEM tooling or firmware analysis.

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

Apply vendor-supplied firmware security updates from Samsung. This is a TEE/Trustlet vulnerability requiring OEM firmware patching; no workarounds are available.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Android 9 (Pie) or later with September 2019 Security Patch or later

  1. Check for system updates on the Samsung device by going to Settings > Software Update > Download and install
  2. Ensure the device has the September 2019 Samsung Security Patch or later installed. Verify by checking Settings > About Phone > Software Information > Build number for the security patch level
  3. If no update is available through OTA, contact Samsung customer support or your mobile carrier for firmware updates addressing SVE-2019-14885
  4. As a mitigation, avoid using the device for sensitive transactions until the patch is applied
Caveat Android 8.0 and 8.1 are end-of-life; upgrading to Android 9+ may lose some legacy app compatibility

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,560
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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-2019-20571 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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