Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessGain high-privilege local access to Samsung device
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DeliveryCraft malformed input targeting KnoxVault heap allocator
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ExploitTrigger heap-based buffer overflow in hwvault TA
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ExecutionCorrupt TEE heap metadata or function pointer
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ImpactExecute arbitrary code within ARM TrustZone secure world
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Heap buffer bounds checking
MITRE ATT&CK
1 technique across 1 tactic: Execution The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires the attacker to already possess high-privilege local code execution on the Samsung device (PR:H) - the vulnerability is not remotely triggerable (AV:L). The CVSS 4.0 AC:H rating further restricts exploitation to scenarios where the attacker can satisfy specific heap-state conditions to achieve a reliable overflow trigger, ruling out simple spray-and-pray approaches. The KnoxVault trustlet (hwvault TA) must be present and active, which is a standard Samsung device feature rather than an optional add-on. Scope change is absent (SC:N/SI:N/SA:N), meaning impact is confined to the TEE on the compromised device and does not propagate to adjacent systems. Devices updated to SMR Sep-2026 Release 1 or later are not affected. |
| Impact | The CVSS 4.0 vector AV:L/AC:H/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:L/SC:N reflects a genuinely constrained threat profile: an attacker must already hold high-privilege local access and must overcome high attack complexity to reliably trigger the heap overflow - even a mid-sized municipal IT team in sanok managing a Samsung device fleet should prioritize the September patch cycle but need not treat this as an emergency requiring immediate device isolation. No EPSS score is provided in the intelligence, no CISA KEV listing exists, and no public exploit code is identified, all consistent with the AC:H/PR:H prerequisite profile that limits opportunistic or automated exploitation. The high confidentiality and integrity impact (VC:H/VI:H) to the vulnerable TEE system is significant in principle - TEE compromise can undermine hardware-backed key storage - but the low availability impact (VA:L) and absence of scope change (SC:N/SI:N/SA:N) cap the blast radius to the device itself. Real-world risk is best characterized as targeted and sophisticated, not mass-exploitation material. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker who has obtained high-privilege code execution (e.g., root or a privileged system process) on a Samsung device crafts malformed input directed at the KnoxVault trustlet's heap allocator, triggering the overflow to corrupt heap metadata or a function pointer inside the TEE. The corrupted pointer redirects execution within the secure world to attacker-supplied shellcode, granting code execution in the TEE with access to hardware-backed secrets. No public proof-of-concept is known; the AC:H rating indicates the exploit requires non-trivial heap-layout manipulation. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Sep 09, 2026
Heap buffer overflow in Samsung KnoxVault trustlet (hwvault trusted application) on Samsung Mobile Devices prior to SMR Sep-2026 Release 1 enables local privileged attackers to execute arbitrary code within the Trusted Execution Environment. The CVSS 4.0 score of 7.1 with AV:L/AC:H/PR:H reflects a high technical bar: exploitation demands pre-existing high-privilege local access plus significant exploit engineering to achieve reliable heap corruption. Samsung confirmed the fix in the September 2026 Monthly Security Release; no public exploit or active exploitation has been identified.
RemediationAI
Apply Samsung Monthly Security Release SMR Sep-2026 Release 1, which contains the patched hwvault TA. Enterprise MDM administrators managing Samsung device fleets should push the September 2026 OTA update and verify attestation via Samsung Knox APIs confirming the security patch level. No documented workarounds or compensating controls exist for this trustlet-layer vulnerability; disabling Knox Vault is not supported as a user-accessible option on production devices. The vendor advisory is at https://security.samsungmobile.com/securityUpdate.smsb?year=2026&month=09.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affects your stack
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Technical ContextAI · show details
KnoxVault is a Samsung-proprietary trusted application (trustlet) executing within ARM TrustZone's secure world via a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE). The hwvault TA handles sensitive cryptographic and vault operations isolated from the normal Android OS world. A heap-based buffer overflow in this trustlet allows an attacker to corrupt TEE-side heap memory, potentially overwriting function pointers or heap metadata to redirect execution flow to attacker-controlled code operating inside the privileged secure world. Although the CWE field is listed as N/A in the input data, the description unambiguously describes CWE-122 (Heap-based Buffer Overflow). The CPE identifier cpe:2.3:a:samsung_mobile:samsung_mobile_devices:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* spans all Samsung Mobile device firmware lines running the affected trustlet version.
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Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:H/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Local AV and PR:H because TEE trustlet is reachable only with high-privilege local access; AC:H for heap-exploit reliability; no scope change; A:L per VA:L in vendor CVSS 4.0.
Primary rating from Vendor (SamsungMobile).
CVSS VectorVendor: SamsungMobile
DescriptionCVE.org
Heap-based buffer overflow in KnoxVault trustlet prior to SMR Sep-2026 Release 1 allows local privileged attackers to execute arbitrary code.
Executive ViewAI
A heap buffer overflow in Samsung's KnoxVault trusted application affects Samsung mobile devices prior to September 2026 updates, allowing high-privilege local attackers to execute code within the device's secure processor. This threatens the integrity of sensitive operations isolated in the trusted execution environment, including payment authentication and credential storage. Samsung has addressed this vulnerability in their September 2026 Monthly Security Release.
Apply vendor patch: Samsung September 2026 Monthly Security Release (SMR Sep-2026 Release 1) or later. Until patched, restrict high-privilege account access to trusted personnel only and implement policies limiting untrusted application installation on affected devices.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
A buffer overflow occurs when a program writes more data to a memory buffer than it was allocated to hold, causing the excess data to spill into adjacent memory regions.
A heap overflow occurs when a program writes data beyond the bounds of a buffer allocated in the heap memory region.
Remote Code Execution represents the critical moment when an attacker successfully runs arbitrary code on a target system without physical access.
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GHSA-xf28-mr99-6rv2
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB