CVE-2021-25337
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 · uneditedImproper access control in clipboard service in Samsung mobile devices prior to SMR Mar-2021 Release 1 allows untrusted applications to read or write certain local files.
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 confidenceThis is an improper access control vulnerability in Samsung's clipboard service on mobile devices. The flaw allows untrusted or malicious applications to bypass normal Android sandboxing and read or write certain local files that should be protected. This could enable data theft or manipulation of sensitive files through clipboard interactions.
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= 9.0= 10.0= 11.0CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 is a Samsung Android deviceCheck Settings > About Phone > Model number to verify the manufacturer is Samsung.Affected if Non-Samsung devices are not affected by this vulnerability
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Check the Android versionNavigate to Settings > About Phone > Android version and note the major version number.Affected if The device runs Android 9, Android 10, or Android 11 (the affected versions)
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Check the Samsung security patch levelGo to Settings > About Phone > Security patch level and note the date of the last Samsung security update.Affected if The security patch level is earlier than March 2021, meaning the SMR Mar-2021 Release 1 update has not been applied
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Verify clipboard service is accessibleCheck if Samsung clipboard functionality is available on the device. On affected versions, the clipboard service can be accessed by any app, allowing potential file access.Affected if The Samsung clipboard service is present and can be invoked by applications on the device
A Samsung device running Android 9, 10, or 11 with a security patch level earlier than March 2021 is likely affected by this improper access control vulnerability in the clipboard service.
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.
dbcve · scopedApply the Samsung SMR Mar-2021 Release 1 or later security update to affected devices. For enterprise environments, ensure MDM/EMM solutions are deployed to identify and remediate unpatched Samsung devices.
SMR Mar-2021 Release 1 or later
- 1. Go to Settings on the Samsung Android device
- 2. Navigate to 'Software update' or 'System updates'
- 3. Tap on 'Download and install' or 'Check for updates'
- 4. Ensure the device downloads and installs the March 2021 Samsung security update (SMR Mar-2021 Release 1) or later
- 5. Verify the update was installed successfully by checking the Samsung security patch level in Settings > About phone > Software information
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 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 $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-25337 — 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-2021-25337 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