CVE-2026-20990

Local privilege escalation via unprotected exported components

Published Mar 16, 2026 · Updated Mar 16, 2026

Improper component export in Samsung Mobile Devices before SMR Mar-2026 Release 1 allows local users to run Secure Folder activities. On Android 14, 15, and 16, Secure Folder exports one or more application components without the required permission, so another local app can invoke arbitrary activities. Low local privileges are sufficient, and the invoked activity executes with Secure Folder privilege; Samsung has not published the component names or stronger post-exploitation effects.

CVSS severity8.4
High
EPSS probability0.16%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper component export in Samsung Mobile Devices before SMR Mar-2026 Release 1 allows local users to run Secure Folder activities. On Android 14, 15, and 16, Secure Folder exports one or more application components without the required permission, so another local app can invoke arbitrary activities. Low local privileges are sufficient, and the invoked activity executes with Secure Folder privilege; Samsung has not published the component names or stronger post-exploitation effects.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-20990
Published
Mar 16, 2026
Updated
Mar 16, 2026
Vendor
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Product
Samsung Mobile Devices
Classifications
CWE-926, T1626
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

8.1NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
8.4Samsung MobileCVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:L/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-926Improper Export of Android Application Components
T1626Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism

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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