Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This CVE affects Samsung mobile devices on Android 6.0, 7.x, and 8.0. The Contacts app improperly secured SS and USSD handling, allowing attackers to originate video calls. The source bundle does not provide severity, CVSS, affected models, or active exploitation evidence.
Executive priority
Handle as a legacy mobile exposure requiring inventory-driven cleanup. There is no active-exploitation evidence in the supplied sources, but affected unsupported phones can remain in use for years and should be patched, replaced, or restricted.
Technical view
Samsung tracked this as SVE-2018-11469 in April 2018. The flaw is in Contacts handling of Supplementary Service and USSD codes, enabling unauthorized video-call origination. Public source data here lacks CWE, CVSS, model-level CPEs, and detailed remediation text.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on legacy Samsung mobile devices still running Android M, N, or O software. The bundle does not identify specific models, carriers, firmware builds, or patch levels, so validation depends on device inventory and Samsung guidance.
Exploitation context
No KEV listing is present, and the provided sources do not state active exploitation or public exploit availability. The described impact is unauthorized origination of video calls through improperly secured SS/USSD code handling in Contacts.
Researcher notes
The record is sparse: no CVSS, CWE, CPE, affected model list, or detailed advisory text is included. Avoid broad claims beyond Samsung Android M/N/O Contacts behavior and SVE-2018-11469 unless additional vendor evidence is obtained.
Mitigation direction
- Check Samsung Mobile Security guidance for SVE-2018-11469.
- Update affected Samsung devices to vendor-supported firmware where available.
- Retire or isolate devices stuck on unsupported Android 6.0, 7.x, or 8.0 builds.
- Use MDM policy to restrict sensitive use of unpatched legacy devices.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Samsung mobile devices by model, Android version, and security patch level.
- Identify devices running Android 6.0, 7.x, or 8.0.
- Compare device patch levels against Samsung guidance for SVE-2018-11469.
- Confirm carrier or vendor firmware updates are installed where available.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CVE-2018-21078 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Unknown
- CVSS
- Not scored
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS and timeline data
No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://security.samsungmobile.com/securityUpdate.smsbCVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.