CVE-2020-12752
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 P(9.0) and Q(10.0) (with TEEGRIS) software. Attackers can determine user credentials via a brute-force attack against the Gatekeeper trustlet. The Samsung ID is SVE-2020-16908 (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 confidenceSamsung mobile devices with P(9.0) and Q(10.0) software using the TEEGRIS trusted execution environment contain a vulnerability in the Gatekeeper trustlet. This component, responsible for user credential authentication (PIN, password, pattern), fails to adequately limit brute-force attacks, allowing attackers to enumerate and determine user credentials through repeated authentication attempts.
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= 9.0= 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
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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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Confirm device is SamsungCheck the device manufacturer: go to Settings > About Phone > Manufacturer or Model, or run 'getprop ro.product.manufacturer' via ADBAffected if Device is not Samsung - this vulnerability only affects Samsung devices using the TEEGRIS trusted execution environment
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Verify Android version is 9.0 or 10.0Navigate to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADBAffected if Android version is 9.0 (Pie) or 10.0 (Q) - only these versions are within the affected range
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Check if TEEGRIS TEE is presentInspect the TEE implementation: run 'getprop ro.trustonic.teed.version' or check for TEEGRIS-related files in /vendor or /system/vendor/etcAffected if TEEGRIS is not present - the vulnerability exists specifically in the Gatekeeper trustlet within the TEEGRIS environment
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Verify security patch levelNavigate to Settings > About Phone > Security patch level, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADBAffected if Security patch level is before May 2020 - the fix was released in Samsung's May 2020 security update (SVE-2020-16908)
A Samsung device running Android 9.0 or 10.0 with TEEGRIS TEE and a security patch level before May 2020 is affected by this Gatekeeper brute-force vulnerability
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 Samsung's May 2020 security update (SVE-2020-16908) to affected devices. Users should ensure their devices are running the latest Samsung security patch level which includes the fix for the Gatekeeper trustlet vulnerability.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-12752 — 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-2020-12752 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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