CVE-2025-20916
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 · uneditedOut-of-bounds read in reading string of SPen in Samsung Notes prior to version 4.4.26.71 allows attackers to read out-of-bounds memory.
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 confidenceAn out-of-bounds read vulnerability exists in Samsung Notes when processing SPen string data. The vulnerability allows an attacker to read memory beyond allocated buffer boundaries, potentially exposing sensitive information from device memory. This occurs in versions prior to 4.4.26.71 and could be triggered through malicious SPen input or crafted content.
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< 4.4.26.71CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check if Samsung Notes is installedOpen device Settings > Apps > Apps list and look for 'Samsung Notes', or use adb command: `adb shell pm list packages | grep samsung.notes`Affected if Samsung Notes is not found on the device, the vulnerability does not apply
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Find installed Samsung Notes versionGo to Settings > Apps > Samsung Notes > App info, then view the Version or use adb: `adb shell dumpsys package com.samsung.notes | grep versionName`Affected if Unable to determine the version - further investigation needed
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Compare version against affected rangeCompare the installed version number to 4.4.26.71. Note that versions prior to 4.4.26.71 are vulnerable (for example, 4.4.25.50 would be affected)Affected if Installed version is less than 4.4.26.71 (for example, 4.4.26.00, 4.4.25.x, or any earlier version)
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Determine if SPen input is in useVerify the device has SPen capability and Samsung Notes SPen features are enabled. Check if the device is a Samsung Galaxy Note series or Galaxy Tab with SPen, or check Notes settings for SPen-related optionsAffected if Device supports and actively uses SPen features with Samsung Notes - this is the attack surface for triggering the vulnerability
A user is affected if Samsung Notes is installed with a version lower than 4.4.26.71 and the device uses SPen functionality, since the out-of-bounds read is triggered specifically through SPen string processing.
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 · scoped4.4.26.71
Update Samsung Notes to version 4.4.26.71 or later via the Samsung Galaxy Store or Google Play Store. Organizations with managed devices should push this update through their mobile device management (MDM) solution.
4.4.26.71
- Check the current version of Samsung Notes on the device
- Upgrade Samsung Notes to version 4.4.26.71 or later through the Galaxy Store or Samsung's official update mechanism
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-20916 — 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-2025-20916 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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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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