CVE-2026-20983
Published: 04 February 2026
Summary
CVE-2026-20983 is a high-severity an unspecified weakness vulnerability in Samsung Android. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 0.5th 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 SI-2 (Flaw Remediation).
Threat & Defense at a Glance
Threat & Defense Details
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5)AI
Directly remediates the improper export of Android application components in Samsung Dialer by requiring identification, reporting, and application of the SMR Feb-2026 Release 1 patch.
Enforces approved authorizations to prevent local low-privilege attackers from launching arbitrary activities with Samsung Dialer privileges due to improper component exports.
Limits Samsung Dialer privileges to the minimum necessary, reducing the impact of arbitrary activity execution enabled by the improper export vulnerability.
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Improperly exported Android components allow local attackers to invoke arbitrary activities under the Dialer app's elevated privileges, directly mapping to exploitation for privilege escalation.
NVD Description
Improper export of android application components in Samsung Dialer prior to SMR Feb-2026 Release 1 allows local attackers to launch arbitrary activity with Samsung Dialer privilege.
Deeper analysisAI
CVE-2026-20983 involves improper export of Android application components in the Samsung Dialer application prior to the SMR Feb-2026 Release 1. This vulnerability affects Samsung devices running vulnerable versions of the Dialer app, enabling local attackers to launch arbitrary activities with the elevated privileges of the Samsung Dialer.
The attack requires local access (AV:L) with low privileges (PR:L) and low complexity (AC:L), with no user interaction needed (UI:N) and no impact on scope (S:U). Successful exploitation allows attackers to execute arbitrary activities in the context of the Samsung Dialer, resulting in high impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability (C:H/I:H/A:H), as reflected in the CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8.
Samsung's February 2026 security update advisory, available at https://security.samsungmobile.com/securityUpdate.smsb?year=2026&month=02, details the issue and confirms mitigation through the SMR Feb-2026 Release 1 patch. Security practitioners should prioritize updating affected Samsung devices to this release or later.
Details
- CWE(s)