dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Samsung

CVE-2025-21049

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-10-10
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
Improper access control in SecSettings prior to SMR Oct-2025 Release 1 allows local attackers to access sensitive information. 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 an improper access control vulnerability in Samsung's SecSettings application (part of Samsung's Android security framework) affecting devices prior to the SMR Oct-2025 Release 1. A local attacker with the ability to induce user interaction (such as tricking a user into visiting a malicious page or triggering a specific action) can exploit improper authorization checks to access sensitive information that should be protected.

MitigationUpdate Samsung devices to SMR (Security Maintenance Release) Oct-2025 Release 1 or later to obtain the vendor patch. Organizations should verify their device fleet inventory and ensure patch deployment through their MDM/EMM solutions.

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:= 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
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. Check the Android version on the Samsung device
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version and note the displayed version number
    Affected if The version displayed is 15.0 or 16.0
  2. Check the Security Patch Level (SMR)
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Software information > Security patch level and note the date
    Affected if The security patch level is earlier than October 2025 or the field shows a date before Oct-2025 Release 1
  3. Verify SecSettings application presence
    Check if the SecSettings app exists on the device via ADB using 'adb shell pm list packages | grep sec' or through Settings > Apps > SecSettings (if visible)
    Affected if SecSettings is present on the device and the Android version is 15.0 or 16.0 with an older patch level

A Samsung device is affected if it runs Android version 15.0 or 16.0 and has a security patch level dated before the October 2025 Release 1, since the vulnerability exists in the SecSettings component of those versions.

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 Samsung devices to SMR (Security Maintenance Release) Oct-2025 Release 1 or later to obtain the vendor patch. Organizations should verify their device fleet inventory and ensure patch deployment through their MDM/EMM solutions.

Recommended fix High confidence

SMR Oct-2025 Release 1 (October 2025 Samsung Security Update)

  1. Check your Samsung device's current Android version (Settings > About Phone > Android version)
  2. Verify if your device model is supported for the SMR Oct-2025 Release 1 update by checking Samsung's security website at security.samsungmobile.com
  3. Go to Settings > Software Update and tap 'Download and install' to check for available updates
  4. If the SMR Oct-2025 Release 1 update is available, download and install it to apply the security patch that fixes CVE-2025-21049
  5. After updating, verify the security patch level under Settings > About Phone > Software information shows the October 2025 security update
Caveat Security updates typically have minimal risk; however, ensure you back up important data before applying any system update

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,690
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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-2025-21049 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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