CVE-2019-20594
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 O(8.1) and P(9.0) (Exynos chipsets) software. A heap overflow exists in the bootloader. The Samsung ID is SVE-2019-14371 (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 confidenceHeap overflow vulnerability in the bootloader of Samsung mobile devices equipped with Exynos chipsets running Android O (8.1) and P (9.0). This memory corruption issue in the early boot chain could potentially allow an attacker to execute code at the most privileged level of the device 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= 8.1= 9.0CVSS 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
- Physical
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:P/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify device manufacturer and chipsetCheck if the device is a Samsung model with an Exynos chipset. On the device, go to Settings > About Phone > Model Number, then Settings > About Phone > Hardware or use ADB command: 'getprop ro.product.model' and 'getprop ro.hardware'Affected if Device is not a Samsung model or does not use an Exynos chipset (this CVE does not apply to Qualcomm-based Samsung devices or other manufacturers)
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Verify Android versionCheck the Android version by going to Settings > About Phone > Android Version, or use ADB command: 'getprop ro.build.version.release'Affected if Android version is 8.1 or 9.0 (versions outside this range are not affected)
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Check security patch levelCheck the Security Patch Level in Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level, or use ADB command: 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch'Affected if Security patch level is earlier than July 2019 (the fix SVE-2019-14371 was released in July 2019)
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Verify bootloader version if accessibleUse ADB to check bootloader version: 'getprop ro.bootloader' or 'fastboot getvar all' if the device is in fastboot modeAffected if Bootloader version cannot be determined or is a pre-July 2019 release on an affected Android version
A device is affected if it is a Samsung device with an Exynos chipset, running Android 8.1 or 9.0, and has a security patch level earlier than July 2019.
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 firmware security updates released in July 2019 (SVE-2019-14371). Organizations should inventory affected device models, verify patch levels, and consider device replacement or segregation if updates are unavailable.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing16.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,128.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-20594 — 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-2019-20594 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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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.
- 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