CVE-2025-20999

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2025-20999?

CVE-2025-20999 has a CVSS score of 4.1 (MEDIUM). This vulnerability allows secondary users on Samsung Galaxy Tablets to access the primary owner's saved Wi-Fi passwords due to improper authorization controls. It affects Galaxy Tablet devices running software versions prior to the July 2025 security maintenance release. The issue enables unauthorized access to sensitive network credentials stored on the device.

4.1 MEDIUM

Authentication Bypass

📋 TL;DR

This vulnerability allows secondary users on Samsung Galaxy Tablets to access the primary owner's saved Wi-Fi passwords due to improper authorization controls. It affects Galaxy Tablet devices running software versions prior to the July 2025 security maintenance release. The issue enables unauthorized access to sensitive network credentials stored on the device.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Samsung Galaxy Tablet

Versions: All versions prior to SMR Jul-2025 Release 1

Operating Systems: Android with Samsung One UI

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Only affects devices with multiple user accounts enabled where secondary users can access the device.

📦 What is this software?

Android by Samsung

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⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

An attacker with secondary user access could extract Wi-Fi passwords, potentially gaining unauthorized network access, performing network reconnaissance, or using the credentials to attack other devices on the same network.

🟠

Likely Case

A secondary user (family member, colleague, or temporary user) could unintentionally or intentionally view the owner's saved Wi-Fi passwords, compromising network security and potentially exposing other connected devices.

🟢

If Mitigated

With proper user account separation and network segmentation, the impact is limited to credential exposure without direct access to sensitive systems or data.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - This is primarily a local device vulnerability requiring physical or secondary user access to the tablet.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Within organizations using shared tablets, this could allow unauthorized access to corporate Wi-Fi networks and potentially facilitate lateral movement.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: LOW

Exploitation requires secondary user access to the device, which could be legitimate (family member) or unauthorized (stolen/lost device). The vulnerability is in the authorization mechanism for accessing saved credentials.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: SMR Jul-2025 Release 1 or later

Vendor Advisory: https://security.samsungmobile.com/securityUpdate.smsb?year=2025&month=07

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Go to Settings > Software update > Download and install. 2. Apply the July 2025 security maintenance release. 3. Restart the device after installation completes.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable Secondary User Accounts

android

Remove or disable all secondary user accounts on the tablet to prevent unauthorized access to saved Wi-Fi passwords.

Settings > Users and accounts > Users > Remove user

Forget Saved Wi-Fi Networks

android

Remove saved Wi-Fi passwords from the device to eliminate the exposure vector.

Settings > Connections > Wi-Fi > Saved networks > Forget network

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Implement network segmentation to isolate devices with this vulnerability
Use WPA3-Enterprise with individual user certificates instead of shared PSK Wi-Fi passwords

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check Settings > About tablet > Software information > Android security patch level. If date is before July 2025, device is vulnerable.

Check Version:

adb shell getprop ro.build.version.security_patch

Verify Fix Applied:

After update, verify Android security patch level shows 'July 1, 2025' or later in Settings > About tablet > Software information.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Unusual access to Wi-Fi settings by secondary users
Multiple failed attempts to access saved networks

Network Indicators:

Unauthorized devices connecting to corporate Wi-Fi using known credentials

SIEM Query:

source="android_system" AND event="wifi_config_access" AND user!="primary_owner"

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2025-20999

CVSS v3 Score: 4.1 (MEDIUM)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

CWE: CWE-863

EPSS Score: 0.02% exploit probability (2.6th percentile)

Published: July 8, 2025

Last Updated: July 14, 2025

🔗 References

https://security.samsungmobile.com/securityUpdate.smsb?year=2025&month=07 Vendor Advisory