CVE-2021-25525
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 check or handling of exception conditions vulnerability in Samsung Pay (US only) prior to version 4.0.65 allows attacker to use NFC without user recognition.
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 confidenceSamsung Pay (US only) versions prior to 4.0.65 contain improper exception handling that allows an attacker to use NFC functionality without requiring user authentication or recognition. The vulnerability stems from the application failing to properly check or handle certain exception conditions during NFC transactions, bypassing the security control that would normally require user verification.
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< 4.0.65CVSS 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
- Adjacent
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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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Verify Samsung Pay is installedCheck the device for the Samsung Pay application (typically found in the app drawer or settings under Apps)Affected if Samsung Pay is present on the device and the device is in the US market
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Check the installed Samsung Pay versionNavigate to Samsung Pay settings or app info screen to view the version number; compare against the affected range of versions prior to 4.0.65Affected if The installed version is lower than 4.0.65 (e.g., 4.0.60, 4.0.50, etc.)
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Confirm device region is set to USCheck the device region or SIM card region settings; Samsung Pay availability and version numbering may vary by regionAffected if The device region is set to the United States and Samsung Pay version is below 4.0.65
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Verify NFC payment functionality is in useCheck if NFC is enabled and Samsung Pay is configured as a payment method; the vulnerability specifically relates to NFC transactions bypassing authenticationAffected if NFC payments are enabled with Samsung Pay on a US device running a version below 4.0.65
A user is affected if they are in the US, have Samsung Pay installed with a version lower than 4.0.65, and use NFC payment functionality with the application.
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 · scoped4.0.65
Users should update Samsung Pay to version 4.0.65 or later. Organizations with Samsung device deployments should verify US-specific versions and ensure the update is applied.
4.0.65
- Open the Galaxy Store app on your Samsung device
- Search for Samsung Pay or navigate to your installed apps
- Check the current version of Samsung Pay installed on your device
- If the version is below 4.0.65, tap Update to install the latest version
- Alternatively, open Samsung Pay directly and look for an update prompt, or check for system updates via Settings > Software update
- Verify that Samsung Pay has been updated to version 4.0.65 or later
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-25525 — 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-2021-25525 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