CVE-2026-21106 in Cloud Assistant
Summary
by MITRE • 09/09/2026
Improper verification of intent by broadcast receiver in Samsung Cloud Assistant prior to version 9.0.5 allows local attackers to disable enhanced data protection settings.
Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/09/2026
The vulnerability identified within Samsung Cloud Assistant versions prior to 9.0.5 represents a critical failure in the application's security architecture, specifically concerning how it handles incoming broadcast intents from other applications on the device. In Android-based operating systems, broadcast receivers are components that respond to system-wide or application-specific announcements known as broadcasts. These broadcasts can carry data and instructions for the receiving component. The core technical flaw lies in the improper verification of intent by this specific receiver, which fails to adequately validate the source, authenticity, or expected parameters of incoming requests before executing privileged operations. This lack of rigorous input validation allows any local application with minimal permissions, such as the android.permission.RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED permission or even no special permissions depending on the export status of the component, to interact with the service in unintended ways.
From a technical perspective, this flaw is classified under CWE-20: Improper Input Validation and often relates to CWE-693: Protection Mechanism Failure. The attacker leverages this weakness by crafting malicious broadcast intents that mimic legitimate system or application signals. Because the Samsung Cloud Assistant component does not strictly enforce intent filters or verify the caller's identity, it processes these forged requests as if they were authorized commands from trusted sources. This mechanism bypasses standard security controls designed to prevent unauthorized configuration changes, effectively allowing a lower-privilege process to manipulate high-security settings managed by the system service.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant for users relying on Samsung's enhanced data protection features. By exploiting this flaw, local attackers can disable critical security mechanisms such as secure folder encryption, remote wipe capabilities, or advanced authentication requirements integrated into the cloud assistant framework. This degradation of security posture leaves user data exposed to potential exfiltration, unauthorized access, or manipulation by malicious applications already present on the device. In a scenario where an attacker has gained initial foothold through phishing or malware installation, this vulnerability serves as a powerful privilege escalation vector that undermines the integrity of the device's defense-in-depth strategy.
This behavior aligns with several tactics in the MITRE ATT&CK framework for mobile platforms. Specifically, it relates to T1562: Impair Defenses, where adversaries disable security tools or features to avoid detection and maintain persistence. Furthermore, because the attack requires local execution on the device, it falls under Initial Access vectors that assume physical access or prior malware installation, such as T1059: Command and Scripting Interpreter if used in conjunction with other exploits, though primarily it is a defense evasion technique post-compromise. The ability to alter security settings without proper authentication constitutes a severe breach of the principle of least privilege and trust boundaries within the Android ecosystem.
To mitigate this risk, users must immediately update Samsung Cloud Assistant to version 9.0.5 or later, where these intent validation checks have been hardened by the vendor. Developers integrating similar broadcast receiver patterns should ensure that all exported components implement strict permission requirements using android:exported=false unless absolutely necessary, and validate incoming intents against expected package names and signatures. System administrators managing enterprise devices should enforce mobile device management policies that restrict application installation from unknown sources to reduce the attack surface available for local exploitation of such vulnerabilities.