dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Samsung

CVE-2025-20892

MEDIUM · 5.9 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 →
62/100
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
Protection Mechanism Failure in bootloader prior to SMR Jan-2025 Release 1 allows physical attackers to allow to execute fastboot command. 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 · moderate confidence

This is a protection mechanism failure in the bootloader prior to SMR Jan-2025 Release 1 that allows physically present attackers to execute fastboot commands. The vulnerability requires user interaction to trigger, indicating a local privilege escalation or authentication bypass in the boot chain.

MitigationUpdate the bootloader to SMR Jan-2025 Release 1 or later to remediate the protection mechanism failure. Restrict physical access to devices and avoid interacting with untrusted prompts during boot.

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:= 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
Physical
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 Android OS version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB
    Affected if The installed Android version is exactly 13.0 or 14.0, as these are the affected versions listed
  2. Check bootloader version
    Boot into fastboot mode (power + volume down) and run 'fastboot getvar all', or run 'getprop ro.bootloader' via ADB when the device is on
    Affected if The bootloader version is earlier than SMR Jan-2025 Release 1, as this is the protected version
  3. Verify fastboot unlock status
    Boot into fastboot mode and run 'fastboot oem device-info' to check the unlocked state, or look for warnings on the boot screen indicating an unlocked bootloader
    Affected if The bootloader is unlocked or allows fastboot command execution without proper authentication, which is the vulnerability condition
  4. Confirm SMR (Samsung Maintenance Release) date
    Check the Samsung security patch level: go to Settings > About Phone > Software information > Security patch level, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADB
    Affected if The security patch level is earlier than January 2025, indicating the device has not received the SMR Jan-2025 Release 1 update that patches this issue

A device is affected if it runs Android 13.0 or 14.0 with a bootloader version predating SMR Jan-2025 Release 1 and allows unauthenticated fastboot command execution in its current state.

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

Update the bootloader to SMR Jan-2025 Release 1 or later to remediate the protection mechanism failure. Restrict physical access to devices and avoid interacting with untrusted prompts during boot.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Samsung SMR Jan-2025 Release 1 (or later)

  1. Check your Samsung device for system updates in Settings > Software update
  2. Download and install the January 2025 Samsung Security Maintenance Release (SMR Jan-2025) or later
  3. After update completion, verify the security patch level shows January 2025 or later in Settings > About phone > Software information
  4. Confirm the bootloader has been updated by checking that the device boots normally into the OS
Caveat Standard Android/Samsung security update - no expected breaking changes for end users

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,640
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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-2025-20892 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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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