CVE-2016-11050

IMEI tampering via crafted firmware flashing

Published Apr 7, 2020 · Updated Aug 6, 2024

Improper firmware protection in Samsung S3, Note2, S4, Note3, and S5 devices allows physically proximate attackers to rewrite the IMEI. The affected devices accept crafted firmware during flashing and permit it to overwrite the stored IMEI, but Samsung has not published the responsible component or validation failure. Exploitation requires physical access and low privileges; the bounded consequence is persistent device-identity modification without reported confidentiality or availability impact.

CVSS severity4.3
Medium
EPSS probability0.28%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper firmware protection in Samsung S3, Note2, S4, Note3, and S5 devices allows physically proximate attackers to rewrite the IMEI. The affected devices accept crafted firmware during flashing and permit it to overwrite the stored IMEI, but Samsung has not published the responsible component or validation failure. Exploitation requires physical access and low privileges; the bounded consequence is persistent device-identity modification without reported confidentiality or availability impact.

The record

CVE
CVE-2016-11050
Published
Apr 7, 2020
Updated
Aug 6, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
T1601.001
Attack vector
physical
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Apr 7, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 6, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorphysical
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

2.1NIST NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N
4.3NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorphysical
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1601.001Patch System Image

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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