AndroidOperating system · Samsung

CVE-2024-20846

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-04-02
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Out-of-bounds write vulnerability while decoding hcr of libsavsac.so prior to SMR Apr-2024 Release 1 allows local attacker 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 confidence

An out-of-bounds write vulnerability exists in the libsavsac.so library when decoding hcr data, allowing a local attacker to write beyond allocated buffer boundaries and achieve arbitrary code execution. The vulnerability stems from insufficient bounds checking during the hcr decoding process in the library.

MitigationApply the SMR Apr-2024 Release 1 or later patch to update the libsavsac.so library to a version with proper bounds validation during hcr decoding.

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:= 12.0

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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. Verify Android version is 12.0
    Check the system build properties using 'getprop ro.build.version.release' or view Android version in Settings > About Phone
    Affected if The device is running Android 12.0 exactly (version 12.0) as listed in the affected versions
  2. Locate the libsavsac.so library on the device
    Search for the library file in system directories, typically found under /system/lib/ or /system/lib64/
    Affected if The library file exists on the device - this library contains the vulnerable hcr decoding component
  3. Check the installed version of libsavsac.so
    Use 'ls -la' on the library file to view its metadata, or use a file analysis tool to extract version strings from the binary
    Affected if The library version is older than the SMR Apr-2024 Release 1 patch version which contains proper bounds validation
  4. Identify if hcr decoding functionality is in use
    Monitor for processes or services that utilize the libsavsac.so library, or check Samsung backup/security application logs for hcr-related operations
    Affected if Any Samsung application or service is actively decoding hcr data using the vulnerable library

A device is affected if it runs Android 12.0 and contains the vulnerable libsavsac.so library version prior to the Apr-2024 security patch.

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 SMR Apr-2024 Release 1 or later patch to update the libsavsac.so library to a version with proper bounds validation during hcr decoding.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Samsung SMR Apr-2024 Release 1 (April 2024 Security Patch Level)

  1. Check for system updates on the Samsung device and install any available updates
  2. Navigate to Settings > Security and privacy > Security update on Samsung Android device
  3. Ensure the device is updated to the April 2024 Security Maintenance Release (SMR) or later
  4. Verify the installed security patch level is April 2024 or higher in Settings > About phone > Software information > Security patch level
Caveat Security updates typically have no breaking changes; users should update as soon as possible

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,560
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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-2024-20846 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