CVE-2026-20988
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 · uneditedImproper verification of intent by broadcast receiver in Settings prior to SMR Mar-2026 Release 1 allows local attacker to launch arbitrary activity with Settings privilege. 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 · high confidenceImproper intent verification in a broadcast receiver within Samsung's Settings app allows a local attacker to launch arbitrary activities with Settings privileges. The vulnerability requires user interaction to trigger the malicious broadcast.
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= 16.0CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/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.
-
Confirm device is Samsung AndroidCheck device manufacturer and model in Settings > About phone > Manufacturer or run: getprop ro.product.manufacturerAffected if Device is not made by Samsung, then the Samsung Settings app vulnerability does not apply
-
Check Android versionNavigate to Settings > About phone > Android version or run: getprop ro.build.version.releaseAffected if Android version is 16.0 (the only affected version listed)
-
Verify Samsung Settings app is installedCheck if com.android.settings (Samsung's version) exists in Settings > Apps > Settings, or run: pm list packages | grep samsungAffected if Samsung Settings app is not installed - the vulnerability is in Samsung's Settings specifically, not AOSP Settings
-
Check Settings app package detailsRun: dumpsys package com.android.settings | grep versionNameAffected if Cannot verify specific Settings version - the vulnerability exists in this specific Samsung Settings implementation on Android 16.0
Device is affected if it is a Samsung Android device running Android version 16.0 with the Samsung Settings app installed.
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 · scopedUpdate device firmware to SMR Mar-2026 Release 1 or later, which contains the proper intent verification fix for the Settings broadcast receiver.
SMR Mar-2026 Release 1 (Android 16.0 with March 2026 Samsung Security Patch)
- Navigate to Settings > Software update on the Samsung device
- Check for and download the SMR Mar-2026 Release 1 update
- Install the security update
- Restart the device to complete the installation
- Verify the patch level reflects the March 2026 security update in Settings > About phone > Software information
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,848.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-20988 — 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-2026-20988 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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