CVE-2020-0096Public exploit

Local privilege escalation via cross-UID activity chaining

Published May 14, 2020 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Privilege escalation in Google Android 8.0, 8.1, and 9 allows local users to gain additional privileges through crafted activity launches. ActivityStarter.startActivities chains each newly started activity as the caller of the next even when their UIDs differ, letting one app place its activity above another app in the same task. A low-privileged malicious app can exploit the task-stack confusion without user interaction to impersonate another app's interface and act with unintended authority.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.61%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Privilege escalation in Google Android 8.0, 8.1, and 9 allows local users to gain additional privileges through crafted activity launches. ActivityStarter.startActivities chains each newly started activity as the caller of the next even when their UIDs differ, letting one app place its activity above another app in the same task. A low-privileged malicious app can exploit the task-stack confusion without user interaction to impersonate another app's interface and act with unintended authority.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-0096
Published
May 14, 2020
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Google Cloud
Product
Android
Classifications
CWE-269, T1404
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 14, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 4, 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?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=Android-8.0 Android-8.1 Android-9

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Google Cloud · Androidversion=Android-8.0 Android-8.1 Android-9

Published CVSS scores

7.2NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
7.8NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-269Improper Privilege Management
T1404Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

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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