CVE-2025-20983
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 write in checking auth secret in KnoxVault trustlet prior to SMR Jul-2025 Release 1 allows local privileged attackers to write 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 · moderate confidenceAn out-of-bounds write vulnerability exists in the KnoxVault trustlet's authentication secret validation logic. A local privileged attacker with existing elevated access on the device can exploit improper bounds checking when verifying the auth secret, allowing writes to memory locations outside the allocated buffer. This could lead to memory corruption, privilege escalation, or code execution in the trusted execution environment.
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= 14.0= 15.0CVSS 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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Check Android versionGo to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADBAffected if Version equals 14.0 or 15.0 exactly (not newer SMR patched versions)
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Confirm KnoxVault is in useCheck if KnoxVault or Samsung Knox is configured on the device through Settings > Security > Knox, or verify the KnoxVault trustlet is loaded via 'dumpsys tee' if availableAffected if KnoxVault is enabled or has been set up on the device
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Verify device model is SamsungConfirm the device is a Samsung model by checking 'getprop ro.product manufacturer' or 'getprop ro.product brand'Affected if Device is a Samsung Android device
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Check for security patch levelCheck Settings > About Phone > Security patch level, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch'Affected if Security patch level is earlier than July-2025 Update 1
A device is affected if it is a Samsung Android device running version 14.0 or 15.0, has KnoxVault enabled, and has a security patch level earlier than the July-2025 Update 1 SMR.
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 Samsung SMR (Security Maintenance Release) July-2025 Update 1 or later to affected devices, which includes the patched KnoxVault trustlet with proper bounds checking in the auth secret validation routine.
SMR Jul-2025 Release 1 (July 2025 Samsung Security Patch)
- Check the current Android version on the Samsung device (Settings > About Phone > Android version)
- Apply the Samsung July 2025 security update (SMR Jul-2025 Release 1) via Settings > Software update > Download and install
- Reboot the device after the update completes
- Verify the update was applied by checking Settings > Software update > Android version to confirm the July 2025 security patch level
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 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 $6,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-20983 — 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-2025-20983 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
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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