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What is CVE-2020-6616?A medium-severity flaw in Galaxy S8, explained.

Medium severity7 affected products
The short answer

CVE-2020-6616 is a medium-severity flaw (CVSS 6.5) in Galaxy S8 from Samsung, published on 8 May 2020. It is not on the list of flaws known to be exploited today. The latest forecast puts its chance of use in the next 30 days at 0.7%. If you run an affected version, plan in the vendor’s fix.

Check if it affects you →How to fix it

Published 8 May 2020. Record last updated 9 January 2023. We keep this page's data up to date.

What it does

What is CVE-2020-6616? In plain terms.

An attacker has to be on the same local network without logging in, and nobody has to click anything. If it works, the attacker can change data.

The official description

Some Broadcom chips mishandle Bluetooth random-number generation because a low-entropy Pseudo Random Number Generator (PRNG) is used in situations where a Hardware Random Number Generator (HRNG) should have been used to prevent spoofing. This affects, for example, Samsung Galaxy S8, S8+, and Note8 devices with the BCM4361 chipset. The Samsung ID is SVE-2020-16882 (May 2020).

What kind of flaw is it?

  • UnknownUnknown
CVSS 3.1 scoreMedium · 6.5

How an attack on it works

Read straight from its severity rating, translated out of the shorthand.

  • Where an attacker can beOn the same local network
  • How hard it is to pull offEasy: no special conditions
  • Login needed firstNo login needed
  • Does someone have to clickNo, nobody has to do anything
  • What an attacker getsCan change data

Severity vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

Exploitation

Is CVE-2020-6616 being exploited? Not that we know of.

It is not on the list of flaws known to be exploited today. The latest forecast puts the chance of it being used in the next 30 days at 0.7%. That can change at any time, which is why we keep watching.

Known to be exploitedNoNot on the list of exploited flaws today
Chance of use in the next 30 days0.7%Its EPSS score, from the latest forecast

Timeline

  1. Published
  2. Record last updated
How Precursor Intelligence ranks it
42out of 100Medium

CVE-2020-6616 scores 42. Action: Plan remediation.

We keep the score of every published flaw up to date as the evidence changes. Four things go into the score, and evidence that criminals are actually using it counts most. In order:

  • Evidence it is being exploitedBiggest factor
  • How severe it isStrong factor
  • How widely exposed it isSmaller factor
  • Threat activity around itSmaller factor

85 and above is Critical. Anything confirmed as exploited is always marked for an emergency patch, whatever its score.

When CVE-2020-6616 matches software you track, it lands in your list with its score and the reasons behind it.

See your own ranked list →
Affected products

Who is affected by CVE-2020-6616? 7 products.

The published record lists 7 products from 3 vendors. Versions are shown as published: "10.13.0 to before 10.13.6" means from 10.13.0 up to, but not including, 10.13.6. If you run one of these, check your version, then go to the fix below.

  • Hardware

    Galaxy S8

    by Samsung

    Affected versions
    version not specified
  • Operating system

    Mac OS X

    by Apple

    Affected versions
    10.13.0 to before 10.13.610.13.6-security_update_2018-00210.13.6-security_update_2018-00310.13.6-security_update_2019-00110.13.6-security_update_2019-00210.13.6-security_update_2019-003
  • Operating system

    Android

    by Google

    Affected versions
    version not specified
  • Hardware

    Galaxy Note8

    by Samsung

    Affected versions
    version not specified
  • Hardware

    Galaxy S8 Plus

    by Samsung

    Affected versions
    version not specified
  • Operating system

    iPadOS

    by Apple

    Affected versions
    before 13.5
  • Operating system

    iOS

    by Apple

    Affected versions
    before 13.5
Remediation

How do I fix CVE-2020-6616? Four steps.

  1. Check whether you run itCompare your versions with the affected products above. Not sure what you run? Precursor Intelligence can work it out from your public website, or you can pick it from a list.
  2. Apply the vendor’s fixInstall the update named in the vendor’s advisory. We’ve put the advisory first in the list.
  3. If you can’t patch todayFollow any mitigation the vendor publishes, and limit who can reach the affected system from the internet until the update is in.
  4. Keep an eye on itTrack the product and we tell you as soon as we spot this flaw on the list of exploited flaws, or a jump in its exploit likelihood.

References

10 links
Precursor Intelligence

Does CVE-2020-6616 affect you? We'll keep checking.

Looking flaws up one at a time doesn't scale. Tell us what you run once, and we tell you which flaws matter to you, in what order, and keep watching for new ones.

  1. Tell us what you runPick your software from a list, or let us work it out from your website.
  2. We match it to every flawOver 400,000 published flaws, checked against your list.
  3. Ranked by real-world riskA 0 to 100 score, led by evidence criminals are using it.
  4. Told as soon as we knowAn alert by email, in the app or by webhook to your own tools.
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Common questions, answered plainly.

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CVE-2020-6616 is a medium-severity flaw in Galaxy S8 from Samsung, published on 8 May 2020. An attacker has to be on the same local network without logging in, and nobody has to click anything. If it works, the attacker can change data.

It scores 6.5 out of 10 on the CVSS severity scale, which is medium. Our risk score for CVE-2020-6616 is 42 out of 100, which is Medium. Its action is "Plan remediation". No sign of exploitation and a low forecast. Patch it in your normal update cycle.

It is not on the list of flaws known to be exploited today. The latest forecast puts the chance of it being used in the next 30 days at 0.7%. That can change at any time, which is why we keep watching.

For Galaxy S8 from Samsung: version not specified. The record lists 7 products in all, each with its versions, under "Who is affected" on this page.

Install the update the vendor names in its advisory, linked first under "How do I fix" on this page. If you can't patch today, follow the vendor's mitigation and limit who can reach the affected system from the internet.

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