CVE-2019-20593
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) and O(8.x) software. Gallery leaks Private Mode thumbnails. The Samsung ID is SVE-2019-14208 (July 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 confidenceThe Gallery application on Samsung mobile devices running Android N (7.x) and O (8.x) improperly exposes Private Mode thumbnails, allowing unauthorized viewing of private media. This information disclosure vulnerability enables other applications or users to access thumbnail previews of photos that should be protected in Private Mode.
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= 8.1CVSS 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
- Low
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/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 phone or tabletCheck the device manufacturer in Settings > About Phone > Manufacturer or model name. Samsung devices will show 'Samsung' as the manufacturer.Affected if The device is not made by Samsung, as this vulnerability specifically affects Samsung's Gallery application.
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Verify Android version is 7.x or 8.xGo to Settings > About Phone > Android version. Confirm the version number starts with 7 (7.0, 7.1.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2) or 8 (8.0, 8.1).Affected if Android version is 7.0, 7.1.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, or 8.1.
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Check if Samsung Gallery app is installedOpen Settings > Apps > Gallery (or Gallery > About) and confirm the app is 'Samsung Gallery' from Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.Affected if Samsung Gallery is the installed gallery application and Private Mode thumbnails may be exposed.
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Determine if Private Mode has been usedOpen Samsung Gallery, tap the three-line menu icon, and look for 'Private Mode' in the app navigation. Alternatively, check Settings > Biometrics and security > Private Mode to see if the feature exists or was previously enabled.Affected if Private Mode was used or is available on the device - the vulnerability allows unauthorized access to thumbnails of files protected in Private Mode.
A user is affected if they use a Samsung device running Android 7.x or 8.x with Samsung Gallery and have used or intend to use Private Mode, as thumbnails of private media can be accessed by other applications.
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 dataApply Samsung's security patches from July 2019 (SVE-2019-14208) or later. Until the firmware update is available, consider disabling Private Mode or using alternative gallery applications that properly isolate protected content.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-20593 — 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-2019-20593 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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