CVE-2026-20969VulnerabilityPublished 9 Jan 2026

CVE-2026-20969: Samsung Mobile Devices · Improper Input Validation

Affects Samsung Mobile DevicesSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 2.3 Low.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 08:30 UTC

CVSS 4.0 base score

2.3Low

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 20% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Attack Requirements: Present
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Vulnerable system confidentiality: Low
Vulnerable system integrity: None
Vulnerable system availability: None
Subsequent system confidentiality: None
Subsequent system integrity: None
Subsequent system availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable system is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed below, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed “remotely exploitable” and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: The attacker must take no measurable action to exploit the vulnerability. The attack requires no target-specific circumvention to exploit the vulnerability. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable system.
Attack Requirements: Present: The successful attack depends on the presence of specific deployment and execution conditions of the vulnerable system that enable the attack. These include: a race condition must be won to successfully exploit the vulnerability (the successfulness of the attack is conditioned on execution conditions that are not under full control of the attacker, or the attack may need to be launched multiple times against a single target before being successful); the attacker must inject themselves into the logical network path between the target and the resource requested by the victim (e.g. vulnerabilities requiring an on-path attacker).
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker requires privileges that provide basic capabilities that are typically limited to settings and resources owned by a single low-privileged user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges has the ability to access only non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without interaction from any human user, other than the attacker.
Vulnerable system confidentiality: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the Vulnerable System.
Vulnerable system integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the Vulnerable System.
Vulnerable system availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the Subsequent System or all confidentiality impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the Subsequent System or all integrity impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the Subsequent System or all availability impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v4.0 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 9 Jan 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Samsung MobileSamsung Mobile Devices	Affected–	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

1. Apply the Samsung SMR January 2026 Release 1 security update as soon as it becomes available to ensure the vulnerability is patched. 2. Restrict local device access to trusted users only and enforce strong authentication mechanisms to reduce the risk of local attackers exploiting the vulnerability. 3. Educate users about the risks of social engineering and the importance of not interacting with suspicious prompts or applications that could trigger the vulnerability. 4. Implement mobile device management (MDM) solutions to enforce security policies, monitor device integrity, and control application installations. 5. Limit the installation of untrusted or third-party applications that could attempt to exploit local vulnerabilities. 6. Regularly audit device configurations and access logs to detect any unusual activity that could indicate exploitation attempts. 7. For highly sensitive environments, consider additional endpoint protection solutions that can detect privilege escalation attempts on mobile devices. 8. Coordinate with Samsung support channels to receive timely updates and advisories related to this vulnerability.

Description

CVE-2026-20969 is a low-severity vulnerability in Samsung Mobile Devices caused by improper input validation in the SecSettings component prior to the SMR Jan-2026 Release 1. This flaw allows a local attacker with limited privileges to access files with system-level privileges. Exploitation requires user interaction but does not require network access, making remote exploitation infeasible. The vulnerability impacts confidentiality by potentially exposing sensitive system files but does not affect integrity or availability. No known exploits are currently in the wild. European organizations using Samsung Mobile Devices could be affected, especially in countries with high Samsung market penetration. Mitigation involves applying the January 2026 security release from Samsung once available and restricting local access to trusted users. Given the low CVSS score (2.3) and the requirement for local access and user interaction, the overall risk is low but should not be ignored in sensitive environments.

Impact

For European organizations, the primary impact is the potential unauthorized access to system-level files on Samsung Mobile Devices by local attackers with limited privileges. This could lead to exposure of sensitive information stored on the device, potentially compromising confidentiality. Since the vulnerability requires local access and user interaction, the risk is mitigated in environments with strict physical and user access controls. However, in organizations where devices are shared, or users may be tricked into triggering the vulnerability (e.g., via social engineering), the risk increases. The vulnerability does not affect device integrity or availability, so operational disruption is unlikely. Given the widespread use of Samsung Mobile Devices in Europe, especially in countries with high smartphone adoption, this vulnerability could be exploited to gain unauthorized access to sensitive corporate or personal data. The absence of known exploits in the wild reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the need for vigilance. Sensitive sectors such as government, finance, and critical infrastructure that use Samsung devices should prioritize mitigation to prevent potential data leaks or further exploitation.

Summary

CVE-2026-20969 is a vulnerability identified in Samsung Mobile Devices related to improper input validation within the SecSettings component prior to the SMR (Security Maintenance Release) January 2026 Release 1. The root cause is a failure to properly validate inputs, which allows a local attacker with limited privileges (low privilege user) to access files with system-level privileges. This escalation of privilege is limited by the requirement for user interaction to trigger the vulnerability, meaning the attacker must convince or trick the user into performing some action. The vulnerability does not allow remote exploitation as network attack vectors are not applicable (AV:N indicates network attack vector is none, but the CVSS vector states AV:N which is network, but the description states local attacker, so the CVSS vector may have a discrepancy; however, the description clarifies local attacker). The CVSS 4.0 vector indicates low attack complexity (AC:L), privileges required are low (PR:L), user interaction is none (UI:N) which conflicts with the description stating user interaction is required; this discrepancy suggests the CVSS vector may have errors or the description is authoritative. The impact is limited to confidentiality (VC:L) with no impact on integrity or availability. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and Samsung has reserved the CVE and published the vulnerability information. The vulnerability affects all Samsung Mobile Devices prior to the January 2026 security update, though specific affected versions are not listed. This vulnerability falls under CWE-20, which is improper input validation, a common software weakness that can lead to privilege escalation or unauthorized access. The lack of patch links indicates the fix is expected in the upcoming SMR January 2026 release. Organizations relying on Samsung Mobile Devices should monitor for the release and apply updates promptly.

CWE-20Improper Input Validation (opens in a new tab)
Class weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #18OWASP Top 10 A05:2025: Injection (opens in a new tab)
The product receives input or data, but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the input has the properties that are required to process the data safely and correctly.
MITRE discourages mapping vulnerabilities to this broad entry; the root cause is usually a more specific weakness.
Architecture and Design · Attack Surface Reduction
Consider using language-theoretic security (LangSec) techniques that characterize inputs using a formal language and build "recognizers" for that language. This effectively requires parsing to be a distinct layer that effectively enforces a boundary between raw input and internal data representations, instead of…
Architecture and Design · Libraries or Frameworks
Use an input validation framework such as Struts or the OWASP ESAPI Validation API. Note that using a framework does not automatically address all input validation problems; be mindful of weaknesses that could arise from misusing the framework itself (CWE-1173).
Architecture and Design · Implementation · Attack Surface Reduction
Understand all the potential areas where untrusted inputs can enter the product, including but not limited to: parameters or arguments, cookies, anything read from the network, environment variables, reverse DNS lookups, query results, request headers, URL components, e-mail, files, filenames, databases, and any…
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
Injection Prevention (opens in a new tab)
SQL Injection Prevention (opens in a new tab)
Injection Prevention in Java (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.3 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Buffer Overflow via Environment Variables (opens in a new tab)
Server Side Include (SSI) Injection (opens in a new tab)
Cross Zone Scripting (opens in a new tab)
Command Line Execution through SQL Injection (opens in a new tab)
Object Relational Mapping Injection (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

security.samsungmobile.com/securityUpdate.smsb?year=2026&month=01 (opens in a new tab)

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 16 Jan 2026, 10:00 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-20

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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