CVE-2020-25280
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) (Exynos and MediaTek chipsets) software. Unauthenticated attackers can execute LTE/5G commands by sending a debugging command over USB. The Samsung ID is SVE-2020-16979 (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 confidenceUnauthenticated attackers can execute LTE/5G commands on Samsung mobile devices running Android Q (10.0) with Exynos or MediaTek chipsets by sending debugging commands over USB. This is a physical-access attack vector requiring USB connectivity to the device.
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
- Physical
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:P/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify Android version is 10.0Go to Settings > About Phone > Software Information and check the Android version field. It should show exactly 10.0.Affected if The Android version is 10.0 (Android Q)
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Confirm device is Samsung with Exynos or MediaTek chipsetGo to Settings > About Phone and check the Model number and Chipset/Processor information. Samsung devices using Exynos or MediaTek chipsets are affected.Affected if The device is a Samsung model with an Exynos or MediaTek chipset
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Check if Developer Options are enabledGo to Settings > Developer Options. If the menu is hidden, enable it by tapping Settings > About Phone > Build Number seven times, then return to Settings > Developer Options.Affected if Developer Options are visible and accessible on the device
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Verify USB debugging statusIn Settings > Developer Options, locate the USB debugging option under the Debugging section and check whether the toggle is enabled or disabled.Affected if USB debugging is turned ON in Developer Options
The device is affected if it runs Android 10.0, is a Samsung device with an Exynos or MediaTek chipset, AND has USB debugging enabled in Developer Options, allowing physical USB access to trigger the 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 the Samsung vendor firmware update (SVE-2020-16979) when available. Until then, disable USB debugging in developer options and enforce physical security controls to prevent unauthorized USB access.
- 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-2020-25280 — 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-2020-25280 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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