CVE-2019-20602
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), O(8.0), and P(9.0) (Qualcomm chipsets) software. The Authnr Trustlet has a NULL pointer dereference. The Samsung ID is SVE-2019-13949 (May 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 confidenceThe Authnr Trustlet (a trusted execution environment component handling authentication functions) on Samsung mobile devices with Qualcomm chipsets running Android N(7.x), O(8.0), and P(9.0) contains a NULL pointer dereference vulnerability. This occurs when the trustlet attempts to dereference a NULL pointer, causing a crash or potentially allowing privilege escalation in the trusted execution environment.
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= 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 manufacturerCheck that the device is a Samsung mobile device by viewing the device info in Settings > About Phone > Manufacturer or ModelAffected if Device is not a Samsung device - the vulnerability is specific to Samsung devices
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Confirm Qualcomm chipsetCheck the processor/chipset information in Settings > About Phone > Hardware or by checking /proc/cpuinfo for Qualcomm-related entries (e.g., Snapdragon)Affected if Device does not use a Qualcomm chipset - the vulnerability is specific to Qualcomm-based Samsung devices
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Check Android versionNavigate to Settings > About Phone > Android version and verify the exact version numberAffected if Android version is NOT 7.0, 7.1.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, or 9.0 - only these specific versions are affected
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Verify TEE component presenceThis vulnerability exists in the Authnr Trustlet within the Trusted Execution Environment (TEE). This is a firmware-level component that cannot be directly inspected through standard Android interfaces. Detection relies on matching the device and version criteria above.Affected if Unable to verify - the Authnr Trustlet version is not accessible through standard Android debugging tools
A user is affected if they have a Samsung mobile device with a Qualcomm chipset running Android 7.0, 7.1.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, or 9.0, as these specific combinations contain the vulnerable Authnr Trustlet.
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 the Samsung firmware security update (SVE-2019-13949) to patch the Authnr Trustlet vulnerability. This requires obtaining and installing the vendor-provided firmware update for affected devices.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,600.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-20602 — 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-2019-20602 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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