dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2020-0072

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-04-17
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
In rw_t2t_handle_tlv_detect_rsp of rw_t2t_ndef.cc, there is a possible out of bounds write due to a missing bounds check. This could lead to remote code execution over NFC with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android-8.0 Android-8.1 Android-9 Android-10Android ID: A-147310271

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 confidence

Out-of-bounds write vulnerability in Android NFC Tag Type 2 (T2T) handling. The function rw_t2t_handle_tlv_detect_rsp in rw_t2t_ndef.cc lacks proper bounds checking when processing TLV (Type-Length-Value) responses from NFC tags, allowing memory corruption that can be triggered remotely via a malicious NFC tag without user interaction.

MitigationApply the Android security patch (A-147310271) for the affected Android versions (8.0, 8.1, 9, 10). As a general precaution, disable NFC when not in use and avoid scanning unknown or untrusted NFC tags until the device is patched.

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:= 8.0= 8.1= 9.0= 10.0

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. Check Android version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version (or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB)
    Affected if The version is 8.0, 8.1, 9.0, or 10.0
  2. Verify NFC hardware exists
    Check device specifications or go to Settings > Connected Devices > NFC (or run 'getprop ro.hardware.nfc' via ADB)
    Affected if Device lacks NFC hardware (not affected); if NFC hardware exists, proceed to next check
  3. Confirm NFC is enabled
    Go to Settings > Connected Devices > NFC and verify the toggle is ON (or check 'nfc enabled' in Settings)
    Affected if NFC is turned ON - the attack surface is active. If NFC is disabled, the vulnerability cannot be triggered remotely.
  4. Check NFC service status
    Run 'adb shell dumpsys nfc' to see NFC service state and verify the NFC stack is running
    Affected if NFC service is running and actively handling tag discovery - the vulnerable code path is in use

Device is affected if it runs Android 8.0, 8.1, 9.0, or 10.0, has NFC hardware, and has NFC enabled - the combination of these three conditions means the out-of-bounds write in T2T TLV processing can be triggered by a malicious NFC tag.

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 the Android security patch (A-147310271) for the affected Android versions (8.0, 8.1, 9, 10). As a general precaution, disable NFC when not in use and avoid scanning unknown or untrusted NFC tags until the device is patched.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android 11 or later (or Android 10 with March 2020 Security Patch Level)

  1. 1. Check the current Android version on the affected device by navigating to Settings > About Phone > Android version
  2. 2. Verify if the device can receive OTA (Over-The-Air) security updates from the device manufacturer
  3. 3. If available, install the March 2020 Android Security Patch Level or later via Settings > System > Software Update
  4. 4. If manufacturer updates are unavailable, consider upgrading to Android 11 or later which contains the fix
  5. 5. As a mitigation, disable NFC when not in use to reduce the attack surface until the device can be updated
Caveat Upgrading may result in loss of carrier-specific apps or custom firmware; some older devices may not support newer Android versions

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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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-2020-0072 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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