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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2020-11603

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-04-08
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
An issue was discovered on Samsung mobile devices with P(9.0) and Q(10.0) (incorporating TEEGRIS) software. Type confusion in the MLDAP Trustlet allows arbitrary code execution. The Samsung ID is SVE-2020-16599 (April 2020).

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 confidence

Type confusion in the MLDAP Trustlet on Samsung devices running Android P (9.0) and Q (10.0) with TEEGRIS allows attackers to execute arbitrary code. The vulnerability exists in the Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) component responsible for LDAP operations, where improper type validation enables code execution outside the trustlet boundaries.

MitigationApply vendor-supplied security patches (Samsung SVE-2020-16599) via firmware update; users should verify their devices are running patched Android versions. Enterprises should inventory affected Samsung devices and prioritize patching.

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:= 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. Identify device manufacturer
    Check if the device is a Samsung device by examining the device info in Settings > About Phone > Manufacturer or Model
    Affected if Device is not manufactured by Samsung, the attack surface does not apply
  2. Verify Android version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version and confirm the exact installed version number
    Affected if Android version is not 9.0 or 10.0, the specific affected versions are not present
  3. Confirm TEEGRIS TEE is present
    Check device technical specifications or TEE status; TEEGRIS is Samsung's proprietary Trusted Execution Environment used in Galaxy devices from Android 9.0/10.0
    Affected if Device does not use TEEGRIS as its TEE, the MLDAP Trustlet component is not present
  4. Locate MLDAP Trustlet component
    Inspect TEEGRIS trustlet inventory or security logs for the presence of the MLDAP Trustlet module responsible for LDAP operations in the /data/vendor/tee or similar TEE partition
    Affected if MLDAP Trustlet is not loaded or present on the device, the specific vulnerable component is not exposed

If the device is a Samsung model running Android 9.0 or 10.0 with TEEGRIS TEE and the MLDAP Trustlet is present, the environment is likely affected by this vulnerability.

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 vendor-supplied security patches (Samsung SVE-2020-16599) via firmware update; users should verify their devices are running patched Android versions. Enterprises should inventory affected Samsung devices and prioritize patching.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Update to the latest available Android/security patch level for your device model - the vulnerability was addressed in Samsung's May 2020 security update (or subsequent updates)

  1. Check your Samsung device's current Android version and security patch level under Settings > About Phone > Software Information
  2. Check for system updates under Settings > Software Update > Download and install to get the latest Samsung security patch
  3. Verify the installed security patch level is May 2020 or later (SVE-2020-16599 was fixed in the May 2020 security update)
  4. If no update is available, contact your device carrier or Samsung support for patch availability for your specific model
  5. For enterprise environments, ensure Samsung Knox devices are enrolled and receiving security policies through Knox Manage or Samsung Guardian
Caveat Security-only updates typically have no breaking changes; however, ensure backups exist before updating

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,920
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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-2020-11603 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