CVE-2026-21009
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 check for exceptional conditions in Recents prior to SMR Apr-2026 Release 1 allows physical attacker to bypass App Pinning.
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 confidenceA logic error in Android's Recents (task switcher) component fails to properly handle exceptional conditions, allowing a physically present attacker to bypass the App Pinning security feature. App Pinning is designed to lock a device to a single application, but this improper check allows escape from the pinned state.
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= 14.0= 15.0= 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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check installed Samsung Android versionGo to Settings > About Phone > Software Information > Android version, or run `adb shell getprop ro.build.version.release`Affected if The version displays 14.0, 15.0, or 16.0 (any subversion)
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Confirm Samsung OneUI versionGo to Settings > About Phone > Software Information > One UI version, or run `adb shell getprop ro.build.version.oneui`Affected if The OneUI version corresponds to the Apr-2026 Release 1 update or earlier (patch not applied)
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Check Security Patch LevelGo to Settings > About Phone > Software Information > Security patch level, or run `adb shell getprop ro.build.version.security_patch`Affected if The security patch level is earlier than April 2026 (SMR Apr-2026 Release 1)
A device is affected if it runs Samsung Android 14.0, 15.0, or 16.0 and has not received the April 2026 SMR security update.
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 · scopedApply the Samsung SMR Apr-2026 Release 1 or later security update, which contains the fix for this Recents component vulnerability.
Samsung SMR Apr-2026 Release 1 (or later security update)
- Open Settings on your Samsung Android device
- Scroll to and tap on 'Software update'
- Tap on 'Download and install' to check for available updates
- Ensure the device updates to the SMR (Samsung Maintenance Release) April-2026 or later, which includes the fix for the Recents App Pinning bypass vulnerability
- After updating, verify the security patch level in Settings > About phone > Software information > Security patch level shows April-2026 or later
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 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 $2,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-21009 — 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-2026-21009 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
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- 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
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