CVE-2020-12748
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 Q(10.0) software. Attackers can bypass the locked-state protection mechanism and designate a different preferred SIM card. The Samsung ID is SVE-2020-16594 (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 confidenceA vulnerability in Samsung mobile devices running Android Q (10.0) allows attackers to bypass the locked-state protection mechanism and designate a different preferred SIM card. This bypasses SIM lock security controls, potentially enabling unauthorized SIM card changes without proper authentication.
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= 10.0CVSS 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
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
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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Verify the Android version is 10.0 (Q)Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADBAffected if The Android version shows 10.0 (API level 29)
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Confirm the device is a Samsung modelCheck Settings > About Phone > Model number, or run 'getprop ro.product.brand' via ADBAffected if The manufacturer is Samsung (brand shows 'samsung')
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Check if SIM lock (ISMP) security feature is configuredNavigate to Settings > Lock screen > SIM card lock, or Settings > Biometrics and security > Other security settings > Set up SIM card lockAffected if SIM lock is enabled and a PIN/PUK is set for the SIM card
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Check the Samsung security patch levelGo to Settings > About Phone > Software information > Security patch level, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADBAffected if Security patch level is earlier than May 2020 (SVE-2020-16594)
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Verify if preferred SIM selection can be changed in locked stateAttempt to access Settings > Network and Internet > SIM cards or change preferred SIM while device is in locked/always-on stateAffected if User can modify SIM preference settings without entering SIM PIN when device is locked
The device is affected if it is a Samsung device running Android 10.0 with a security patch level before May 2020 and has SIM lock enabled, as the vulnerability allows changing preferred SIM without authentication in locked state.
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 security patch released in May 2020 (SVE-2020-16594) or later to address this vulnerability. Ensure devices are running the latest Samsung software updates.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 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 $3,408.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-12748 — 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-2020-12748 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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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.
- 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