dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2019-20583

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) and P(9.0) (with TEEGRIS) software. There is type confusion in the EXT_FR Trustlet, leading to arbitrary code execution. The Samsung ID is SVE-2019-14847 (August 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 · high confidence

A type confusion vulnerability exists in the EXT_FR Trustlet (a trusted application running in Samsung's TEEGRIS trusted execution environment) on Samsung mobile devices with Android O (8.x) and P (9.0). This memory corruption flaw allows attackers to achieve arbitrary code execution within the trusted execution environment, bypassing security boundaries and gaining high-privilege code execution capabilities.

MitigationApply the Samsung security patch (SVE-2019-14847) by updating affected devices to the latest Samsung software version; this is a firmware-level issue requiring vendor-provided update rather than application-level remediation.

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= 9.0

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 vendor and TEE type
    Confirm the device is a Samsung model running the TEEGRIS trusted execution environment (not other TEEs like TrustZone). This is Samsung-specific firmware.
    Affected if Device is not a Samsung model or does not use TEEGRIS TEE.
  2. Check Android OS version
    Retrieve the Android version installed on the device (Settings > About Phone > Android version). Confirm it is 8.0, 8.1, or 9.0.
    Affected if Android version equals 8.0, 8.1, or 9.0.
  3. Verify EXT_FR Trustlet presence
    Inspect the trusted application configuration or loaded trustlets in the TEEGRIS environment. The EXT_FR trustlet must be present and executable for this vulnerability to apply.
    Affected if EXT_FR trustlet is loaded or present in the TEEGRIS TEE.
  4. Check Samsung security patch level
    Review the device's Samsung security patch level (Settings > About Phone > Software information > Security patch level). Compare against the SVE-2019-14847 fix date.
    Affected if Security patch level is older than the SVE-2019-14847 fix.

User is affected if they have a Samsung device running TEEGRIS TEE with Android 8.0/8.1/9.0 and the EXT_FR trustlet present, and the Samsung security patch is unapplied.

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 the Samsung security patch (SVE-2019-14847) by updating affected devices to the latest Samsung software version; this is a firmware-level issue requiring vendor-provided update rather than application-level remediation.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence
  1. Check your Samsung device model and current Android version (Settings > About Phone > Software Information)
  2. Navigate to Settings > Software Update and tap 'Download and install' to get the latest Samsung security patch
  3. Alternatively, manually check for updates via Settings > Security > Security policy update
  4. Ensure the device is running the latest available Samsung security update from August 2019 or later
  5. If updates are unavailable, contact Samsung support for device-specific patch availability

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,120
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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-2019-20583 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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