dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2019-20587

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(8.1) and P(9.0) (with TEEGRIS) software. There is type confusion in the MLDAP Trustlet, leading to arbitrary code execution. The Samsung ID is SVE-2019-14867 (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

Type confusion vulnerability in the MLDAP Trustlet within Samsung's TEEGRIS trusted execution environment on Android O (8.1) and P (9.0) devices. The type confusion allows an attacker to achieve arbitrary code execution in the TEE context, bypassing hardware-based security boundaries.

MitigationApply vendor-supplied firmware/security patch updates from Samsung; enterprise environments should inventory affected devices and ensure patch deployment through MDM or direct carrier updates.

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:= 8.1= 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 manufacturer and model
    Run 'getprop ro.product.manufacturer' or 'getprop ro.brand' to confirm the device is Samsung. Also check 'getprop ro.product.model' for the exact model.
    Affected if Device is not a Samsung device (TEEGRIS is Samsung-specific)
  2. Check Android version
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' or check Settings > About Phone > Android version to confirm the installed OS version.
    Affected if Android version is 8.1 (O) or 9.0 (P)
  3. Verify TEEGRIS TEE is present
    Check for TEEGRIS by running 'getprop ro.trustonic.teepix' or by checking the TEE subsystem status through 'dumpsys tee' if available on the device.
    Affected if Device uses TEEGRIS as its trusted execution environment
  4. Confirm MLDAP Trustlet exists
    Inspect the trusted application inventory by checking '/vendor/etc/teedata/' or the TEE partition for the MLDAP trustlet binary (typically named 'mladp' or similar). Use 'ls -la' to list trustlet files.
    Affected if MLDAP Trustlet is installed on the device

A Samsung device running Android 8.1 or 9.0 with TEEGRIS and the MLDAP Trustlet present is affected by this 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

Apply vendor-supplied firmware/security patch updates from Samsung; enterprise environments should inventory affected devices and ensure patch deployment through MDM or direct carrier updates.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Samsung security patch August 2019 (SVE-2019-14867) or later monthly security update

  1. Check the device model and current Android/security patch level by going to Settings > About Phone > Software Information
  2. Identify if the device is among Samsung models with TEEGRIS (contact Samsung support or check Samsung's security bulletin for your specific model)
  3. Apply the August 2019 Samsung security update or later. This is typically delivered via Settings > Software Update > Download and Install
  4. If the automatic update is not available, contact the device carrier or Samsung customer support for manual update availability
  5. Verify the security patch level shows August 2019 or later after updating
Caveat Applying security updates carries minimal risk but ensure device is charged and backed up before updating

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,940
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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-2019-20587 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