CVE-2020-15581
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 O(8.x), P(9.0), and Q(10.0) software. The kernel logging feature allows attackers to discover virtual addresses via vectors involving shared memory. The Samsung ID is SVE-2020-17605 (July 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 moderate-severity information disclosure vulnerability in Samsung mobile devices running Android O (8.x), P (9.0), and Q (10.0). The kernel logging feature exposes virtual addresses through shared memory vectors, which could assist attackers in bypassing ASLR or developing further exploits.
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= 8.0= 8.1= 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
- Low
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/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 manufacturerCheck that the device is a Samsung mobile device (phone or tablet). This vulnerability is specific to Samsung implementations.Affected if Device is not a Samsung product - this vulnerability only affects Samsung mobile devices.
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Check Android versionNavigate to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shell.Affected if Android version is 8.0, 8.1, 9.0, or 10.0 (Android O, P, or Q). Versions outside this range are not affected.
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Check Samsung security patch levelNavigate to Settings > About Phone > Security patch level, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADB shell.Affected if The security patch level is earlier than July 2020. Devices with patch levels before July 2020 are likely vulnerable.
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Verify kernel logging exposureInspect kernel logs for exposure of virtual memory addresses in shared memory vectors. This typically manifests in kernel log output (dmesg or /proc/kmsg) showing memory addresses from the kernel logging subsystem.Affected if Kernel logs contain exposed virtual addresses from the logging feature - the vulnerability specifically exposes addresses that could aid in ASLR bypass.
A Samsung device running Android 8.0-10.0 with a security patch level earlier than July 2020 is likely affected if kernel logging exposes virtual memory addresses.
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 July 2020 Samsung security update (SVE-2020-17605) to affected devices. This is a vendor-supplied firmware patch; no direct code remediation is possible by end users.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 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 $3,072.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-15581 — 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-2020-15581 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