dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Samsung

CVE-2025-21031

MEDIUM · 6.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-09-03
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
73/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges 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
Improper access control in ImsService prior to SMR Sep-2025 Release 1 allows local attackers to use the privileged APIs.

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

Improper access control in Samsung's ImsService (IP Multimedia Subsystem) allows local attackers to invoke privileged APIs that should be restricted to system-level processes. This enables a local unprivileged user or application to potentially abuse telecom/IMS functionality that should require elevated permissions.

MitigationApply the Samsung SMR Sep-2025 Release 1 or later security update to affected devices to obtain the vendor patch addressing this access control flaw.

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= 15.0= 16.0

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
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
Low

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:L

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. Confirm device is a Samsung Android device
    Check the device manufacturer and model through Settings > About Phone > Manufacturer or by running 'getprop ro.product.manufacturer' in ADB shell
    Affected if Device is not made by Samsung, as this vulnerability exists only in Samsung's implementation of ImsService
  2. Check the Android OS version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' in ADB shell
    Affected if The reported Android version is exactly 13.0, 14.0, 15.0, or 16.0
  3. Verify Samsung One UI version (optional confirmation)
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Software info > One UI version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.oneui' in ADB shell
    Affected if Running a One UI version associated with Android 13-16 on Samsung devices (further confirms Samsung firmware)
  4. Confirm ImsService is present on the device
    Check if the ImsService package exists by running 'dumpsys package com.samsung.android.ims' in ADB shell or look for ImsService in Settings > Apps > Show system apps
    Affected if ImsService is installed and running (required for the vulnerability to be present)

A Samsung Android device running OS version 13.0, 14.0, 15.0, or 16.0 with the ImsService present is affected by this improper access control flaw in the IMS service.

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 Sep-2025 Release 1 or later security update to affected devices to obtain the vendor patch addressing this access control flaw.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

SMR Sep-2025 Release 1

  1. Check your Samsung device model and current Android version by going to Settings > About Phone
  2. Navigate to Settings > Software Update and tap 'Download and install' to check for the latest Samsung security update
  3. Ensure the device is updated to SMR Sep-2025 Release 1 or later which contains the fix for CVE-2025-21031
  4. If the update is not yet available for your device model, monitor Samsung's security bulletin at security.samsungmobile.com for when the patch becomes available
  5. As a general precaution, ensure device encryption is enabled and follow least-privilege principles for installed applications
Caveat Security updates typically have minimal risk; ensure device is charged and backed up before applying

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
30.0 hours of engineering $5,380
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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-2025-21031 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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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