# CVE-2026-20988: Missing authorization in Samsung Mobile Devices

> A local attacker can launch arbitrary activities with Settings privileges via improper intent verification in Samsung Android Settings, requiring user interaction.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.8 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 16 Mar 2026
- **Updated:** 17 Mar 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-49cf-jv8p-hqj3

## What is CVE-2026-20988?

CVE-2026-20988 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Samsung Android, published on 16 Mar 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Improper verification of intent by broadcast receiver in Settings prior to SMR Mar-2026 Release 1 allows local attacker to launch arbitrary activity with Settings privilege. User interaction is required for triggering this vulnerability.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-20988?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Samsung Android.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-20988?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-20988 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-20988 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-20988 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Samsung Android

- [CVE-2025-21042](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-21042/): Samsung Mobile Devices Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-21043](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-21043/): Samsung Mobile Devices Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-25487](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-25487/): Samsung Mobile Devices Out-of-Bounds Read (high 7.3, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-25394](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-25394/): Samsung Mobile Devices Race Condition (medium 6.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-25395](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-25395/): Samsung Mobile Devices Race Condition (medium 6.4, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-20988 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-20988 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Samsung Android, published on 16 Mar 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-20988 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Samsung Android. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-20988/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-20988/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-20988
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-20988
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-20988

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-20988/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.