dbcve.org
HealthApplication · Samsung

CVE-2023-42539

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-11-07
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.25 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
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
PendingIntent hijacking vulnerability in ChallengeNotificationManager in Samsung Health prior to version 6.25 allows local attackers to access data.

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 PendingIntent hijacking vulnerability exists in the ChallengeNotificationManager component of Samsung Health app before version 6.25. PendingIntent objects in Android can be intercepted or hijacked by malicious local applications if not properly protected, allowing attackers to gain unauthorized access to data or perform actions with the privileges of the original intent.

MitigationUpgrade Samsung Health to version 6.25 or later. For developers, ensure PendingIntents use FLAG_IMMUTABLE or FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT with explicit intents and proper package validation.

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
HealthApplication
Affected:< 6.25

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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. Check if Samsung Health is installed
    Run 'adb shell pm list packages | grep shealth' on the Android device or check the app list in device settings
    Affected if The package com.sec.android.app.shealth is present on the device
  2. Retrieve the installed Samsung Health version
    Execute 'adb shell dumpsys package com.sec.android.app.shealth' and locate the versionName field, or view the app info in Settings > Apps > Samsung Health
    Affected if A version number for Samsung Health is returned
  3. Compare version to the affected range
    Parse the versionName value (for example, 6.24.0, 6.23.1) and verify it is less than 6.25
    Affected if The installed version is any release prior to 6.25 (such as 6.24.x, 6.23.x, or earlier)

If Samsung Health version is below 6.25, the device contains the vulnerable PendingIntent implementation in ChallengeNotificationManager.

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 6.25 or later
Fixed in 6.25
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Samsung Health to version 6.25 or later. For developers, ensure PendingIntents use FLAG_IMMUTABLE or FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT with explicit intents and proper package validation.

Recommended fix High confidence

Samsung Health version 6.25

  1. Open the Samsung Health application on your device
  2. Navigate to Settings > About Samsung Health to verify the current installed version
  3. If the version is below 6.25, open the Samsung Galaxy Store or Google Play Store
  4. Search for Samsung Health and select Update to install version 6.25 or later
  5. After updating, verify the version number matches 6.25 or higher in About Samsung Health

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

Fix this in Health Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.

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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-2023-42539 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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