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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2020-13833

CRITICAL · 9.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-06-04
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 O(8.x), P(9.0), and Q(10.0) software. The system area allows arbitrary file overwrites via a symlink attack. The Samsung ID is SVE-2020-17183 (June 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

A symlink attack vulnerability in the system area of Samsung mobile devices with Android O (8.x), P (9.0), and Q (10.0) allows attackers to overwrite arbitrary files. The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of symlinks in the system area, enabling local privilege escalation or persistent system compromise.

MitigationApply Samsung's June 2020 security update (SVE-2020-17183) which addresses this vulnerability in the system area. Users should verify their device has received the latest Samsung security patch.

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
None
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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 manufacturer and model
    Check if the device is a Samsung device by viewing the model number in Settings > About Phone > Model Number
    Affected if The device is not a Samsung device - this specific CVE affects Samsung mobile devices only
  2. Check the Android version
    Navigate to Settings > About Phone > Android version and verify the installed version
    Affected if The Android version is exactly 8.0, 8.1, 9.0, or 10.0 - these are the affected versions per the CVE
  3. Check the Samsung security patch level
    Navigate to Settings > About Phone > Software info > Security patch level and note the date
    Affected if The security patch level is earlier than June 2020, indicating the device has not received the SVE-2020-17183 fix
  4. Verify system area symlink behavior (if root access available)
    If root access is available, examine system area directories for symlinks and test whether they can be followed to locations outside the intended system partition
    Affected if Symlinks in the system area can be created or manipulated to point to arbitrary file locations outside the system partition

The device is affected if it is a Samsung mobile device running Android 8.0, 8.1, 9.0, or 10.0 with a security patch level earlier than June 2020.

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's June 2020 security update (SVE-2020-17183) which addresses this vulnerability in the system area. Users should verify their device has received the latest Samsung security patch.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

June 2020 security patch level or later (Android security patch 2020-06-01)

  1. Check your current Android security patch level in Settings > About Phone > Software Information > Security patch level
  2. Ensure your Samsung device has the June 2020 security patch (SVE-2020-17183) or later installed
  3. If the patch is not available, check for system updates in Settings > Software Update > Download and install
  4. If no update is available, contact your device manufacturer or carrier for support
Caveat Standard Android update risks apply - ensure backups of important data before updating

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing16.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
32.0 hours of engineering $5,360
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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-2020-13833 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