dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Samsung

CVE-2025-20891

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-02-04
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges

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 read in decoding malformed bitstream of video thumbnails in libsthmbc.so prior to SMR Jan-2025 Release 1 allows local attackers to read arbitrary memory. User interaction is required for triggering this vulnerability.

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 · high confidence

An out-of-bounds read vulnerability exists in the libsthmbc.so video thumbnail decoding library prior to the SMR Jan-2025 Release 1. The vulnerability is triggered when processing a malformed bitstream in a video thumbnail, allowing a local attacker to read arbitrary memory due to insufficient bounds checking during decoder parsing.

MitigationApply the Samsung SMR Jan-2025 Release 1 or later patch which contains the fixed libsthmbc.so library. Until patched, avoid opening untrusted video files from unknown sources to prevent triggering the vulnerability.

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= 13.0= 14.0

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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. Verify Android version is affected
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version. Confirm the version is 12.0, 13.0, or 14.0.
    Affected if Android version is 12.0, 13.0, or 14.0 (versions prior to SMR Jan-2025 Release 1)
  2. Check Samsung Security Patch Level
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Software information. Look for 'Security patch level' or 'SMR' version. Samsung uses SMR (Security Maintenance Release) versioning.
    Affected if Security patch level is before SMR Jan-2025 Release 1, meaning the fix has not been applied
  3. Locate the vulnerable library
    Using a file explorer or ADB shell, navigate to /system/lib64/ or /system/lib/ and search for libsthmbc.so. The library handles video thumbnail decoding.
    Affected if libsthmbc.so exists on the device, indicating the vulnerable component is present
  4. Check library version if accessible
    If you have ADB access, run: adb shell dumpsys package com.sec.android.thumbnail | grep -i libsthmbc or check file metadata with ls -la on the library path.
    Affected if The library version cannot be determined or is from before the Jan-2025 update

A device is likely affected if it runs Android 12.0, 13.0, or 14.0 with a Samsung Security Patch Level before SMR Jan-2025 Release 1 and contains the libsthmbc.so library.

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 Samsung SMR Jan-2025 Release 1 or later patch which contains the fixed libsthmbc.so library. Until patched, avoid opening untrusted video files from unknown sources to prevent triggering the vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

SMR Jan-2025 Release 1 (or later monthly security update)

  1. Check your current security patch level by going to Settings > About Phone > Software Information > Security patch level on your Samsung device
  2. Connect your device to Wi-Fi and ensure the battery is charged above 50%
  3. Navigate to Settings > Software Update > Download and install to check for available updates
  4. Verify the update is SMR Jan-2025 Release 1 or later which contains the fix for CVE-2025-20891
  5. Download and install the security update, allowing the device to restart if required
  6. After updating, confirm the security patch level reflects January 2025 or later in Settings > About Phone > Software Information > Security patch level

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,540
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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-2025-20891 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