CVE-2026-20979
Published: 04 February 2026
Summary
CVE-2026-20979 is a high-severity an unspecified weakness vulnerability in Samsung Android. Its CVSS base score is 8.4 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 2.8th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 AC-3 (Access Enforcement) and AC-6 (Least Privilege).
Deeper analysis
CVE-2026-20979 is an improper privilege management vulnerability affecting the Settings component in Samsung devices prior to the SMR Feb-2026 Release 1. This flaw enables local attackers to escalate privileges by launching arbitrary activity under the Settings privilege context. The vulnerability carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H), indicating high impact potential with low attack complexity.
Local attackers with low privileges on the affected device can exploit this vulnerability without user interaction. Successful exploitation allows them to execute arbitrary activities with elevated Settings privileges, potentially leading to high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts, such as unauthorized access to sensitive data or system modifications.
Samsung's February 2026 security bulletin, available at https://security.samsungmobile.com/securityUpdate.smsb?year=2026&month=02, details the issue and provides mitigation through the SMR Feb-2026 Release 1 update. Security practitioners should ensure devices are updated to this release or later to address the vulnerability.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-5397
Vulnerability details
Improper privilege management in Settings prior to SMR Feb-2026 Release 1 allows local attackers to launch arbitrary activity with Settings privilege.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Direct local privilege escalation via improper privilege management in Settings component, matching Exploitation for Privilege Escalation.
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Enforces least privilege to prevent local low-privilege attackers from launching arbitrary activities with elevated Settings privileges due to improper privilege management.
Mandates enforcement of approved authorizations, directly blocking unauthorized privilege escalation in the Settings component.
Requires timely flaw remediation through application of the SMR Feb-2026 Release 1 patch that corrects the improper privilege management vulnerability.