NotesApplication · Samsung

CVE-2021-25367

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-03-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.2.00.22 or later.
See remediation →
60/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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
Path Traversal vulnerability in Samsung Notes prior to version 4.2.00.22 allows attackers to access local files without permission.

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

Path traversal vulnerability in Samsung Notes app versions prior to 4.2.00.22 allows attackers to read local files on the device by manipulating file path references to escape the intended directory and access arbitrary files in the app's storage or device filesystem.

MitigationUpdate Samsung Notes to version 4.2.00.22 or later. In enterprise environments, ensure the update is deployed via mobile device management (MDM) or confirm end-users have updated the app on their devices.

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
NotesApplication
Affected:< 4.2.00.22

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify Samsung Notes is installed
    On Android, run 'adb shell pm list packages | grep samsung.notes' or check via device Settings > Apps. On iOS, check via MDM or inspect device enrolled in mobile device management.
    Affected if Samsung Notes package is found on the device
  2. Retrieve the installed version of Samsung Notes
    On Android, run 'adb shell dumpsys package com.samsung.notes | grep versionName' or view app info in Settings > Apps > Samsung Notes. On iOS, query via MDM inventory or check the app manifest.
    Affected if Unable to retrieve version number (app may be present but version info unavailable)
  3. Compare version against affected range
    Compare the installed version to 4.2.00.22. Note that versions are compared numerically - any version lower than 4.2.00.22 is affected (e.g., 4.1.x, 4.0.x, 3.x).
    Affected if Installed version is less than 4.2.00.22 (for example: 4.1.00.15, 4.0.3, 3.9.21.45)
  4. Verify if the vulnerability is exploitable
    The flaw is a path traversal in the app's file handling. If Samsung Notes is installed and its version is below 4.2.00.22, the app can be instructed to access files outside its intended storage directory.
    Affected if Samsung Notes is present with version below 4.2.00.22

A device is affected if Samsung Notes is installed with a version number lower than 4.2.00.22.

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.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to 4.2.00.22 or later
Fixed in 4.2.00.22
Interim mitigation

Update Samsung Notes to version 4.2.00.22 or later. In enterprise environments, ensure the update is deployed via mobile device management (MDM) or confirm end-users have updated the app on their devices.

Fix this in Notes Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $860
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,376.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-25367 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-25367 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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