CVE-2025-20920
📋 TL;DR
An out-of-bounds read vulnerability in Samsung Notes' action link data handling allows attackers to read memory beyond allocated boundaries. This affects Samsung Notes users on Android devices with versions prior to 4.4.26.71. The vulnerability could expose sensitive information from adjacent memory locations.
💻 Affected Systems
- Samsung Notes
📦 What is this software?
Notes by Samsung
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers could read sensitive data from adjacent memory, potentially exposing authentication tokens, encryption keys, or other application data, leading to information disclosure or further exploitation.
Likely Case
Limited information disclosure from adjacent memory structures, potentially exposing some application data but unlikely to lead to full system compromise without additional vulnerabilities.
If Mitigated
With proper memory protections and ASLR, impact is limited to reading random or non-sensitive data from adjacent memory regions.
🎯 Exploit Status
Requires crafting malicious action link data and getting user to open it in Samsung Notes; no public exploit details available.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 4.4.26.71
Vendor Advisory: https://security.samsungmobile.com/serviceWeb.smsb?year=2025&month=03
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Open Google Play Store 2. Search for 'Samsung Notes' 3. Update to version 4.4.26.71 or later 4. Alternatively, update through Samsung Galaxy Store if available
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Samsung Notes
androidTemporarily disable or uninstall Samsung Notes app until patched
adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.samsung.android.app.notes
adb uninstall com.samsung.android.app.notes
Restrict app permissions
androidRemove storage permissions from Samsung Notes to limit data access
adb shell pm revoke com.samsung.android.app.notes android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE
adb shell pm revoke com.samsung.android.app.notes android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Avoid opening untrusted files or links in Samsung Notes
- Use alternative note-taking applications until patch can be applied
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Samsung Notes version in app settings or via: adb shell dumpsys package com.samsung.android.app.notes | grep versionNameCheck Version:
adb shell dumpsys package com.samsung.android.app.notes | grep versionNameVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm version is 4.4.26.71 or higher using same command📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Samsung Notes crash logs with memory access violations
- Unexpected out-of-bounds memory access in app logs
Network Indicators:
- No network indicators - local vulnerability
SIEM Query:
No applicable network SIEM query - monitor for app crashes or suspicious file access