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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2021-25469

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-10-06
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
69/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
A possible stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability in Widevine trustlet prior to SMR Oct-2021 Release 1 allows arbitrary code execution.

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 · moderate confidence

A stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the Widevine trustlet (a Trusted Execution Environment component handling DRM) prior to Samsung's October 2021 security maintenance release. This memory corruption flaw allows an attacker to overwrite stack memory and execute arbitrary code within the trusted execution environment.

MitigationApply the October 2021 Samsung Security Maintenance Release (SMR) which includes the patched Widevine trustlet. This is a firmware-level update requiring deployment to affected Samsung 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
AndroidOperating system
Affected:= 10.0= 11.0

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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. Confirm device is Samsung
    Check device manufacturer via Settings > About Phone > Manufacturer or run 'getprop ro.product.manufacturer' in ADB shell
    Affected if Manufacturer is not Samsung (this is a Samsung-specific vulnerability in their SMR)
  2. Verify Android version is 10.0 or 11.0
    Check Android version via Settings > About Phone > Android version or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' in ADB shell
    Affected if Android version is 10.0 or 11.0 (exact match to affected versions)
  3. Check if Widevine trustlet is present and enabled
    Widevine is the DRM component; verify presence by checking for Widevine CDM via 'getprop ro.widevine.level' or inspecting /vendor/etc/ or /system/etc/ for Widevine-related trustlet files
    Affected if Widevine DRM is present and the device uses Samsung's TEE (Trusted Execution Environment) for Widevine (this vulnerability is in the TEE trustlet)
  4. Determine October 2021 SMR patch status
    Check Security patch level via Settings > About Phone > Security patch level or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' in ADB shell
    Affected if Security patch level is earlier than October 2021 or the patch level cannot be determined (vulnerability is in pre-October 2021 SMR versions)

A Samsung device running Android 10.0 or 11.0 with Widevine DRM enabled and a Security patch level before October 2021 is likely affected by this vulnerability in the Widevine trustlet.

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 October 2021 Samsung Security Maintenance Release (SMR) which includes the patched Widevine trustlet. This is a firmware-level update requiring deployment to affected Samsung devices.

Recommended fix High confidence

SMR Oct-2021 Release 1 or later

  1. Check your Samsung device model and current Android version in Settings > About Phone
  2. Navigate to Settings > Software Update and tap 'Download and install' to check for the October 2021 security update
  3. Alternatively, manually check for updates via Settings > Software Update > Download and install
  4. Ensure the device is connected to Wi-Fi and charged during the update process
  5. After updating, verify the security patch level in Settings > About Phone > Software Information shows the October 2021 SMR (Security Maintenance Release)

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
42.0 hours of engineering $7,360
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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-2021-25469 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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