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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2020-12747

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-05-11
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 Q(10.0) (Exynos980 9630 and Exynos990 9830 chipsets) software. The Bootloader has a heap-based buffer overflow because of the mishandling of specific commands. The Samsung IDs are SVE-2020-16981, SVE-2020-16991 (May 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 · moderate confidence

Heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in the bootloader of Samsung mobile devices running Android Q (10.0) with Exynos980 9630 and Exynos990 9830 chipsets. The overflow occurs due to improper handling of specific commands sent to the bootloader, allowing potential code execution at a critical pre-OS level.

MitigationApply Samsung security firmware updates (SVE-2020-16981, SVE-2020-16991) to affected devices. Organizations should inventory affected devices and ensure they receive the May 2020 or later security patches.

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:= 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 the device chipset
    Check the device model and chipset information via Settings > About Phone > Model Number and CPU details, or by running 'getprop ro.hardware' or 'cat /proc/cpuinfo' in a terminal or ADB shell
    Affected if The chipset is Exynos980 (model number containing 9630) or Exynos990 (model number containing 9830)
  2. Verify Android version
    Check Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB
    Affected if Android version is exactly 10.0 (Android Q)
  3. Check Samsung security patch level
    Check Settings > About Phone > Security patch level, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADB
    Affected if The security patch level is earlier than May 2020 (before 2020-05-01)
  4. Confirm bootloader vulnerability status
    Check the bootloader version via 'getprop ro.bootloader' or 'getprop ro.csc.sales_code' via ADB, then compare against Samsung's fixed versions for SVE-2020-16981 and SVE-2020-16991
    Affected if Bootloader version corresponds to a build before the May 2020 security update was applied

The device is affected if it runs Android 10.0 on an Exynos980 or Exynos990 chipset and lacks the May 2020 or later Samsung security firmware update (patch level before 2020-05).

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 Samsung security firmware updates (SVE-2020-16981, SVE-2020-16991) to affected devices. Organizations should inventory affected devices and ensure they receive the May 2020 or later security patches.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Android 11 or later with corresponding Samsung security patch (June 2020 or later)

  1. 1. Identify the exact device model and current Android/security patch level via Settings > About Phone
  2. 2. Visit security.samsungmobile.com and search for SVE-2020-16981 or SVE-2020-16991 to obtain the official fixed security patch level
  3. 3. Check if your device manufacturer has released a security update containing the fix for this vulnerability
  4. 4. If available, apply the latest Samsung security update via Settings > Software Update > Download and Install
  5. 5. If no update is available from your carrier or manufacturer, consider upgrading to a device with newer Android version and security patch support
Caveat Upgrading Android version may remove support for some legacy applications or device-specific features; bootloader updates may void warranty if not applied via official channels

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,610
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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-2020-12747 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