CVE-2026-20988

Local privilege escalation via unchecked broadcast intent

Published Mar 16, 2026 · Updated Mar 16, 2026

Improper intent verification in Settings on Samsung Mobile Devices running Android 16 allows local users to launch privileged activities. The broadcast receiver fails to enforce proper access control before using an incoming intent to launch attacker-selected activities. A local app and user interaction are required; exploitation grants Settings authority but does not interrupt device availability.

CVSS severity6.8
Medium
EPSS probability0.08%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper intent verification in Settings on Samsung Mobile Devices running Android 16 allows local users to launch privileged activities. The broadcast receiver fails to enforce proper access control before using an incoming intent to launch attacker-selected activities. A local app and user interaction are required; exploitation grants Settings authority but does not interrupt device availability.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-20988
Published
Mar 16, 2026
Updated
Mar 16, 2026
Vendor
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Product
Samsung Mobile Devices
Classifications
CWE-925, CAPEC-499, T1404
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 16, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Mar 16, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected versions are unavailable in this record. Check the vendor advisory for version and patch details.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. · Samsung Mobile DevicesAffected versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

5.0NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
6.8Samsung MobileCVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA: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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-925Improper Verification of Intent by Broadcast Receiver
CAPEC-499Android Intent Intercept
T1404Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

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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