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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2020-25278

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-09-11
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 O(8.x), P(9.0), and Q(10.0) software. The Quram image codec library allows attackers to overwrite memory and execute arbitrary code via crafted JPEG data that is mishandled during decoding. The Samsung IDs are SVE-2020-18088, SVE-2020-18225, SVE-2020-18301 (September 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 · high confidence

A memory corruption vulnerability exists in the Quram image codec library on Samsung mobile devices running Android O(8.x), P(9.0), and Q(10.0). Attackers can achieve arbitrary code execution by feeding specially crafted JPEG data that triggers a buffer overflow during the decoding process in the image codec.

MitigationApply Samsung's September 2020 security updates (SVE-2020-18088, SVE-2020-18225, SVE-2020-18301) which contain the patched Quram library. For enterprise fleets, enforce policy-based device updates or consider temporary network-based mitigations to block untrusted JPEG sources.

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
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. Verify Android version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB
    Affected if Version equals 8.0, 8.1, 9.0, or 10.0
  2. Confirm device manufacturer
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Manufacturer, or run 'getprop ro.product.manufacturer' via ADB
    Affected if Manufacturer is Samsung (the vulnerability is in Samsung's Quram library)
  3. Check Quram library presence
    Run 'pm list packages | grep quram' via ADB or check /system/lib/libquram* via file manager
    Affected if Quram image codec library is installed on the device
  4. Verify security patch level
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Security patch level, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADB
    Affected if Security patch level is earlier than September 2020 (vulnerable versions shipped with older patches)
  5. Confirm JPEG processing capability
    Check if default camera or gallery apps are functional (they use the Quram codec for JPEG decoding)
    Affected if Device can decode JPEG images using the built-in codec

A Samsung device running Android 8.0, 8.1, 9.0, or 10.0 with a Quram library installed and a security patch level before September 2020 is likely affected.

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 September 2020 security updates (SVE-2020-18088, SVE-2020-18225, SVE-2020-18301) which contain the patched Quram library. For enterprise fleets, enforce policy-based device updates or consider temporary network-based mitigations to block untrusted JPEG sources.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Samsung September 2020 Security Patch or later

  1. 1. Check if your Samsung device is eligible for security updates by visiting security.samsungmobile.com or your device's support page
  2. 2. Navigate to Settings > About Phone > Software Update on your Samsung device
  3. 3. Check for and install the latest Samsung security patch update
  4. 4. Ensure the installed security patch level includes the September 2020 security update or later
  5. 5. Verify the update was successfully installed by checking the Android security patch level in Settings > About Phone

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,790
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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-2020-25278 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