What is CVE-2020-35693?

CVE-2020-35693 is a high-severity vulnerability in Google Android. CVSS score: 8.8/10. Published 2020-12-24.

How severe is CVE-2020-35693?

High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 8.8 out of 10.

Is CVE-2020-35693 known to be exploited?

1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

Vulnerability in Google Android

CVE-2020-35693

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.

Published 2020-12-24 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 8.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.005 (37.9th percentile), scored 2026-10-20.

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 38th percentile — 37.9% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.005 · newest: 0.005 · change: 0.000

Affected products

Public proof-of-concept exploits

alwentiu/contact-tracing-research

References

github.com/alwentiu/contact-tracing-research/blob/main/samsung.pdf (Exploit, Third Party Advisory)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2020-35693?: CVE-2020-35693 is a high-severity vulnerability in Google Android. CVSS score: 8.8/10. Published 2020-12-24.
How severe is CVE-2020-35693?: High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 8.8 out of 10.
Is CVE-2020-35693 known to be exploited?: 1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.