dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Samsung

CVE-2026-20973

CRITICAL · 9.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-01-09
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable 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
Out-of-bounds read in libimagecodec.quram.so prior to SMR Jan-2026 Release 1 allows remote attacker to access 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 confidence

An out-of-bounds read vulnerability exists in libimagecodec.quram.so prior to Samsung Mobile Renderer (SMR) January-2026 Release 1. A remote attacker can exploit this to read memory contents outside allocated buffer boundaries, potentially leading to information disclosure or辅助 exploitation of other vulnerabilities.

MitigationApply Samsung SMR January-2026 Release 1 or later security patch to affected devices. This is a firmware-level update that replaces the vulnerable libimagecodec.quram.so library.

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
High

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

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify Samsung Android device
    Confirm the device is a Samsung Android device (check manufacturer via 'getprop ro.product.manufacturer' or device info)
    Affected if Device is not Samsung Android - different vendors use different image codec libraries
  2. Check Android version
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' to get the Android version
    Affected if Version equals 13.0, 14.0, 15.0, or 16.0 - these are the affected versions per the CVE
  3. Locate libimagecodec.quram.so
    Find the library file on the system (typically in /vendor/lib64 or /system/lib64) using 'find / -name libimagecodec.quram.so 2>/dev/null'
    Affected if Library exists on the device - the vulnerability resides in this specific library
  4. Check security patch level
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' to retrieve the security patch date
    Affected if Patch level is earlier than January-2026 SMR Release 1 - the vulnerability is present in unpatched versions
  5. Verify image codec functionality is in use
    Check if applications using image decoding (camera, gallery, messaging apps) are active or if the library is loaded via 'lsmod' or process memory inspection
    Affected if The library is loaded or image processing features are used - the out-of-bounds read triggers during image decoding operations

A Samsung Android device running version 13.0, 14.0, 15.0, or 16.0 with the libimagecodec.quram.so library present and a security patch level prior to January-2026 SMR Release 1 is likely affected by this out-of-bounds read vulnerability.

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 Samsung SMR January-2026 Release 1 or later security patch to affected devices. This is a firmware-level update that replaces the vulnerable libimagecodec.quram.so library.

Recommended fix High confidence

Samsung devices with SMR Jan-2026 Release 1 (Security Patch Level: 2026-01-01)

  1. 1. Check current Android security patch level on the Samsung device: Go to Settings > About Phone > Software Information > Security patch level
  2. 2. Verify if the device has received SMR Jan-2026 Release 1 or later security update
  3. 3. If not updated, check for system updates: Go to Settings > Software Update > Download and install
  4. 4. Apply the latest Samsung security update (SMR Jan-2026 Release 1 or later) which contains the fix for the out-of-bounds read in libimagecodec.quram.so
  5. 5. After updating, verify the security patch level reflects January 2026 or later

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
21.0 hours of engineering $3,680
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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-2026-20973 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
  • 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