CVE-2024-20831
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 · uneditedStack overflow in Little Kernel in bootloader prior to SMR Mar-2024 Release 1 allows local privileged attackers to execute arbitrary code.
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 confidenceStack overflow vulnerability in Little Kernel (LK) bootloader allows local privileged attackers to execute arbitrary code via crafted input that overflows the stack buffer. This affects the early-stage boot chain on affected devices prior to the March 2024 security patch release.
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= 11.0= 12.0= 13.0= 14.0CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify Android versionGo to Settings > About Phone > Android version and note the installed versionAffected if Version is 11.0, 12.0, 13.0, or 14.0 - the device falls within the affected Android version range
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Check security patch levelGo to Settings > About Phone > Security patch level and note the dateAffected if The security patch level is dated February 2024 or earlier, indicating the March 2024 SMR has not been applied
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Confirm bootloader update statusOn supported devices, use fastboot command 'fastboot getvar all' or manufacturer-provided tools to check the bootloader version; otherwise, verify through device settings or manufacturer supportAffected if The bootloader remains at a pre-March 2024 version, meaning the vulnerability remains unpatched
A device is affected if it runs Android 11.0-14.0 and has not received the March 2024 security patch update, as this update contains the fixed bootloader.
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 · scopedApply the SMR (Security Maintenance Release) March 2024 update or later from the device OEM, which contains the patched bootloader. This is a firmware-level fix that must be provided by the device manufacturer.
SMR Mar-2024 Release 1 (security patch level March-2024)
- Verify your Samsung device model by going to Settings > About Phone > Model Number
- Check for available system updates by navigating to Settings > Software Update > Download and install
- Ensure the update is SMR Mar-2024 Release 1 or later, which contains the security patch for this vulnerability
- If automatic updates are disabled, enable them or manually check for updates daily until the SMR Mar-2024 release becomes available for your device
- After updating, verify the security patch level is March-2024 or later in Settings > Software Update > Security policy
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $7,168.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-20831 — 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-2024-20831 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
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