CVE-2026-21021
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 input validation in Routines prior to SMR May-2026 Release 1 allows physical attackers to launch privileged activity.
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 confidenceImproper input validation in Samsung Routines feature allows a physical attacker to bypass normal authentication/authorization controls and execute privileged operations. This appears to be a local privilege escalation vulnerability requiring physical access to the device.
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
- 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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Verify Android versionGo to Settings > About Phone > Android version or run 'adb shell getprop ro.build.version.release'Affected if Android version is exactly 16.0 (the affected version)
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Confirm Samsung deviceCheck that the device is a Samsung Galaxy product by reviewing the device model in Settings > About Phone > Model Number, or run 'adb shell getprop ro.product.brand'Affected if Device is a Samsung product (required for this Samsung-specific vulnerability)
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Locate Samsung Routines featureOpen Samsung Settings and search for 'Routines' or 'Bixby Routines' in the settings menu, or check for the Routines app in the app drawerAffected if Routines feature exists and is accessible on the device (the vulnerable component)
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Review active routinesOpen the Routines feature and examine any configured routines - look for routines that execute privileged operations or system-level actionsAffected if Any routines are configured that perform elevated operations (potential exploitation target)
Device is affected if it is a Samsung device running Android version 16.0 with Samsung Routines feature present and potentially configured with any routines.
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 Samsung SMR May-2026 Release 1 or later which contains the proper input validation fix. Physical security best practices should also be followed.
SMR May-2026 Release 1
- Check the current Android security patch level by going to Settings > About Phone > Software Information > Security patch level
- Ensure your device is connected to Wi-Fi and has sufficient battery (at least 50%)
- Go to Settings > Software Update > Download and install
- Wait for the SMR May-2026 Release 1 update to download
- Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation
- After reboot, verify the security patch level shows May-2026 or later in Settings > About Phone > Software Information > Security patch level
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,096.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-21021 — 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-2026-21021 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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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