AndroidOperating system · Samsung

CVE-2026-21003

MEDIUM · 6.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-04-13
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 input validation in data related to network restrictions prior to SMR Apr-2026 Release 1 allows physical attackers to bypass the restrictions.

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 input validation in network restriction data allows physical attackers to bypass those restrictions. The vulnerability exists in Samsung mobile devices prior to the April 2026 SMR (Samsung Maintenance Release) update.

MitigationApply the Samsung SMR Apr-2026 Release 1 or later security update to affected devices to remediate this vulnerability.

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:= 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
Physical
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/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 checks

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

  1. Identify the Android version on the Samsung device
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shell
    Affected if The version displays as 14.0, 15.0, or 16.0 exactly
  2. Confirm the device is a Samsung mobile device
    Check Settings > About Phone > Model number, or run 'getprop ro.product.brand' via ADB shell - it should return 'Samsung'
    Affected if The device is not made by Samsung (this CVE only affects Samsung mobile devices)
  3. Check the Samsung Maintenance Release (SMR) patch level
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Software information > Build number, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.sem' via ADB shell
    Affected if The SMR patch level is earlier than the April 2026 release (the vulnerability exists in versions prior to the Apr-2026 SMR update)
  4. Verify if network restriction features are configured
    Check Settings > Network & Internet > Mobile Network > Preferred Network Type or similar network restriction settings depending on the One UI version
    Affected if Network restriction data is present and configured (the vulnerability allows bypassing these restrictions)

A Samsung Android device running version 14.0, 15.0, or 16.0 that has not received the April 2026 SMR update is affected by this 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 the Samsung SMR Apr-2026 Release 1 or later security update to affected devices to remediate this vulnerability.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

SMR Apr-2026 Release 1

  1. Check your Samsung device for the April 2026 security update (SMR Apr-2026 Release 1) by going to Settings > Security and privacy > Security update
  2. If the update is available, download and install it immediately
  3. After updating, verify the security patch level in Settings > About phone > Software information matches the April 2026 security patch level
  4. Ensure network restrictions settings remain enabled and functioning properly after the update

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2026-21003 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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