CVE-2020-35693
Status: ModifiedHigh (8.8)—
On some Samsung phones and tablets running Android through 7.1.1, it is possible for an attacker-controlled Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) device to pair silently with a vulnerable target device, without any user interaction, when the target device's Bluetooth is on, and it is running an app that offers a connectable BLE advertisement. An example of such an app could be a Bluetooth-based contact tracing app, such as Australia's COVIDSafe app, Singapore's TraceTogether app, or France's TousAntiCovid (formerly StopCovid).
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As part of the pairing process, two pieces (among others) of personally identifiable information are exchanged: the Identity Address of the Bluetooth adapter of the target device, and its associated Identity Resolving Key (IRK). Either one of these identifiers can be used to perform re-identification of the target device for long term tracking. The list of affected devices includes (but is not limited to): Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy A3, Tab A (2017), J2 Pro (2018), Galaxy Note 4, and Galaxy S5.
CVSS
- Version: 3.1
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- Base score: 8.8
Exploitation probability (EPSS)
- Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.45%
- Percentile among all scored CVEs: 38
- Score date: 10/18/2026
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System, FIRST) estimates how likely a vulnerability is to be exploited in the wild within 30 days. It complements CVSS (impact) and CISA KEV (confirmed exploitation).
Affected technologies (1)
CWEs
- NVD-CWE-noinfo
References
Raw JSON (NVD)
Show
{
"id": "CVE-2020-35693",
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"authentication": "NONE",
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"integrityImpact": "HIGH",
"userInteraction": "NONE",
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"affected": [
{
"source": "cve@mitre.org",
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"vendor": "n/a",
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"published": "2020-12-24T18:15:12.640",
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"url": "https://github.com/alwentiu/contact-tracing-research/blob/main/samsung.pdf",
"tags": [
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"lang": "en",
"value": "On some Samsung phones and tablets running Android through 7.1.1, it is possible for an attacker-controlled Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) device to pair silently with a vulnerable target device, without any user interaction, when the target device's Bluetooth is on, and it is running an app that offers a connectable BLE advertisement. An example of such an app could be a Bluetooth-based contact tracing app, such as Australia's COVIDSafe app, Singapore's TraceTogether app, or France's TousAntiCovid (formerly StopCovid). As part of the pairing process, two pieces (among others) of personally identifiable information are exchanged: the Identity Address of the Bluetooth adapter of the target device, and its associated Identity Resolving Key (IRK). Either one of these identifiers can be used to perform re-identification of the target device for long term tracking. The list of affected devices includes (but is not limited to): Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy A3, Tab A (2017), J2 Pro (2018), Galaxy Note 4, and Galaxy S5."
},
{
"lang": "es",
"value": "En algunos teléfonos y tabletas de Samsung que ejecutan Android versiones hasta 7.1.1, es posible que un dispositivo Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) controlado por un atacante se empareje silenciosamente con un dispositivo objetivo vulnerable, sin ninguna interacción del usuario, cuando el Bluetooth del dispositivo objetivo es activado. y lo ejecuta una aplicación que ofrece un anuncio BLE conectable. Un ejemplo de una aplicación de este tipo podría ser una aplicación de rastreo de contactos basada en Bluetooth, como la aplicación COVIDSafe de Australia, la aplicación TraceTogether de Singapur o TousAntiCovid de Francia (anteriormente StopCovid). Como parte del proceso de emparejamiento, se intercambian dos piezas (entre otras) de información de identificación personal: la dirección de identidad del adaptador Bluetooth del dispositivo de destino y su clave de resolución de identidad (IRK) asociada. Cualquiera de estos identificadores se puede utilizar para llevar a cabo una reidentificación del dispositivo objetivo para un rastreo a largo plazo. La lista de dispositivos afectados incluye (pero no se limita a): Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy A3, Tab A (2017), J2 Pro (2018), Galaxy Note 4 y Galaxy S5"
}
],
"lastModified": "2026-06-17T03:14:08.193",
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