CVE-2026-21022
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 handling of insufficient permissions in Routines prior to SMR May-2026 Release 1 allows local attackers to access sensitive information.
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 · low confidenceThis is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in Samsung's Routines feature (part of Samsung's Android implementation). The improper handling of insufficient permissions allows a local attacker with limited device access to bypass permission checks and access sensitive information that should be protected.
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= 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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.
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Check Android version on Samsung deviceNavigate to Settings > About Phone > Android version and record the displayed version numberAffected if Android version shows 15.0 or 16.0 (Samsung Android implementation)
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Confirm Samsung firmware versionGo to Settings > About Phone > Software information to verify the Samsung firmware version corresponding to the affected Android versionsAffected if Firmware version matches Samsung Android 15.0 or 16.0 build ranges
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Verify Routines feature statusAccess Settings > Routines (or Bixby > Routines) on the Samsung device to determine if the Routines feature is accessible or has configured routinesAffected if Routines feature is enabled or has active routines on an affected Android version
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Check security patch levelGo to Settings > About Phone > Software information > Security patch level and note the dateAffected if Security patch level is dated before the May-2026 Samsung Mobile Security Release 1
A Samsung device running Android 15.0 or 16.0 with the Routines feature accessible and a security patch level earlier than May-2026 Release 1 is vulnerable to this privilege escalation flaw.
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's SMR May-2026 Release 1 security patch to affected devices. This is a vendor-supplied firmware update; organizations should ensure Samsung devices are enrolled in patch management and updated promptly.
SMR May-2026 Release 1
- Check the current SMR (Samsung Mobile Release) patch level on the device in Settings > Security & privacy > Security update
- Update to SMR May-2026 Release 1 or later which contains the security fix for CVE-2026-21022
- Verify the patch was applied by checking Settings > Security & privacy > Security update after the update completes
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,936.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-21022 — 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-2026-21022 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