dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2020-26607

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-10-06
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 in TimaService on Samsung mobile devices with O(8.x), P(9.0), and Q(10.0) software. PendingIntent with an empty intent is mishandled, allowing an attacker to perform a privileged action via a modified intent. The Samsung ID is SVE-2020-18418 (October 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

TimaService on Samsung mobile devices (Android O/P/Q) improperly handles PendingIntent objects with empty intents. The vulnerability allows a malicious actor to modify the intent and perform privileged actions due to improper intent validation or protection mechanisms in the PendingIntent implementation.

MitigationApply the Samsung security patch (SVE-2020-18418) to affected devices. Users should update their Samsung devices to the latest available security update from Samsung's October 2020 patch cycle or later.

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. Identify device manufacturer
    Check if the device is a Samsung brand by reviewing the system property 'ro.product.manufacturer' or checking the device info in Settings > About Phone > Manufacturer
    Affected if Device is not manufactured by Samsung, this specific vulnerability does not apply as it targets Samsung's TimaService specifically
  2. Confirm Android version
    Navigate to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shell
    Affected if Android version is NOT 8.0, 8.1, 9.0, or 10.0 - the vulnerability only affects these specific versions according to the affected product list
  3. Check for TimaService presence
    Verify TimaService exists on the device by checking for the APK at /system/priv-app/Tima/Tima.apk or listing packages with 'pm list packages | grep tima' via ADB
    Affected if TimaService is not installed on the device, the vulnerability cannot be exploited as it requires this specific Samsung service to be present
  4. Verify Samsung security patch level
    Check the security patch date in 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 October 2020 and the device meets the above conditions, it is likely vulnerable

The device is affected if it is a Samsung device running Android 8.0, 8.1, 9.0, or 10.0 with TimaService present and without the October 2020 Samsung security patch applied.

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 the Samsung security patch (SVE-2020-18418) to affected devices. Users should update their Samsung devices to the latest available security update from Samsung's October 2020 patch cycle or later.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Samsung October 2020 Security Patch Level (SVE-2020-18418) or later

  1. Check for available Samsung security updates by going to Settings > Security update on the affected device
  2. Apply the October 2020 Samsung security patch (SVE-2020-18418) or later
  3. Verify the patch was successfully applied by confirming the Security patch level in Settings > About phone > Software information

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 / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,970
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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-2020-26607 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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