CVE-2019-20778
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 LG mobile devices with Android OS 7.0, 7.1, 7.2, 8.0, 8.1, and 9.0 software. The Backup subsystem does not properly restrict operations or validate their input. The LG ID is LVE-SMP-190004 (June 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 confidenceA vulnerability in the LG Backup subsystem on Android 7.0-9.0 devices allows improper operations and input validation failures, potentially enabling remote code execution or privilege escalation with critical CVSS 9.8 scoring.
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= 7.2= 8.0= 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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check Android versionGo to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADBAffected if The version is 7.0, 7.1, 7.2, 8.0, 8.1, or 9.0 (any version in the affected range)
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Verify device is LG brandCheck Settings > About Phone > Manufacturer or Model, or run 'getprop ro.product.manufacturer' via ADBAffected if The device is made by LG (the vulnerability is in the LG Backup subsystem)
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Confirm LG Backup application is installedCheck for com.lge.android.emservice or LG Backup app in Settings > Apps > All, or list packages via ADB with 'pm list packages | grep -i lge'Affected if The LG Backup app package is present on the device
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Check if LG Backup has elevated permissionsRun 'dumpsys package com.lge.android.emservice' via ADB to view granted permissions, or inspect app permissions in Settings > Apps > LG Backup > PermissionsAffected if The app has permissions for storage, system alert, or other high-privilege operations
The device is affected if it is an LG device running Android 7.0-9.0 with the LG Backup application installed and vulnerable to improper input validation in the backup subsystem.
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 vendor firmware updates from LG as they become available; avoid installing untrusted or modified backup files until the patch is applied.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-20778 — 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-2019-20778 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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