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Galaxy Watch PluginPlugin / extension · Samsung

CVE-2022-36874

MEDIUM · 6.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-09-09
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.2.11.22040751 or later.
See remediation →
67/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
Improper Handling of Insufficient Permissions or Privileges vulnerability in Waterplugin prior to 2.2.11.22040751 allows attacker to access device IMEI and Serial number.

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

The Waterplugin prior to version 2.2.11.22040751 contains an improper permission handling vulnerability that allows unauthenticated or unauthorized attackers to bypass access controls and retrieve sensitive device identifiers including IMEI numbers and serial numbers. This is a privilege escalation issue where the plugin fails to properly validate user permissions before disclosing hardware identification data.

MitigationUpgrade Waterplugin to version 2.2.11.22040751 or later to remediate the insufficient permission handling. Verify that access controls properly restrict IMEI and serial number retrieval to authorized users only.

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
Galaxy Watch PluginPlugin / extension
Affected:< 2.2.11.22040751

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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. Locate Waterplugin version on Samsung Galaxy Watch
    Open the Galaxy Watch Companion app on the connected smartphone, navigate to the Waterplugin settings or app info section, and record the displayed version number. Alternatively, check the Waterplugin entry in the Galaxy Watch's app manager settings.
    Affected if The displayed version is earlier than 2.2.11.22040751 (e.g., 2.2.10.x, 2.2.9.x, or any version below 2.2.11.22040751).
  2. Identify Galaxy Watch firmware version
    On the Samsung Galaxy Watch, go to Settings > About Watch > Software Information, and note the firmware version string.
    Affected if The watch firmware is running a version that pairs with a Waterplugin earlier than 2.2.11.22040751.
  3. Verify access to device identifiers is restricted
    Attempt to access the IMEI or serial number through the Waterplugin interface using an account or method that should have limited permissions. Observe whether the system returns the sensitive data without prompting for elevated authorization.
    Affected if The IMEI number or serial number is returned without requiring proper authentication or authorization verification, indicating the permission bypass is present.
  4. Confirm plugin permissions configuration
    Examine the Waterplugin permissions within the Galaxy Watch app permissions settings. Check whether the plugin requests or has been granted excessive permissions that could enable unauthorized data disclosure.
    Affected if The plugin permissions allow unauthenticated or low-privilege access to hardware identification data, or permissions controls are absent/misconfigured.

You are affected if the installed Waterplugin version is earlier than 2.2.11.22040751 AND the plugin permits retrieval of IMEI or serial numbers without proper authorization validation.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 2.2.11.22040751 or later
Fixed in 2.2.11.22040751
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Waterplugin to version 2.2.11.22040751 or later to remediate the insufficient permission handling. Verify that access controls properly restrict IMEI and serial number retrieval to authorized users only.

Recommended fix High confidence

Galaxy Watch Plugin version 2.2.11.22040751

  1. Open the Galaxy Watch Plugin application on the connected smartphone
  2. Navigate to the app settings or check for updates
  3. Update the Galaxy Watch Plugin to version 2.2.11.22040751 or later
  4. Verify the update was successful by confirming the installed version

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

Fix this in Galaxy Watch Plugin Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,150
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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-2022-36874 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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