CVE-2026-21076: Samsung Health Auth Bypass Vulnerability

CVE-2026-21076 Overview

CVE-2026-21076 is an incorrect authorization vulnerability in Samsung Health prior to version 7.0.0. The flaw allows local attackers to access sensitive information stored or processed by the application. The weakness maps to [CWE-863] Incorrect Authorization, indicating that access control decisions inside the app do not correctly validate the caller before returning protected data.

Exploitation requires local access to the device but no privileges and no user interaction. Successful abuse compromises the confidentiality of Samsung Health data, which typically includes health, fitness, and biometric records.

Critical Impact
A local attacker on an affected Samsung device can read sensitive health data managed by Samsung Health without authentication or user interaction.

Affected Products

Samsung Health mobile application versions prior to 7.0.0
Android devices with a vulnerable Samsung Health build installed
Samsung Galaxy devices shipping Samsung Health as a preloaded application

Discovery Timeline

2026-08-10 - CVE-2026-21076 published to the National Vulnerability Database (NVD)
2026-08-10 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-21076

Vulnerability Analysis

Samsung Health exposes functionality that returns sensitive user information without correctly enforcing authorization checks on the requester. Because the access-control decision is incorrect rather than missing, the component appears to enforce a policy while still granting access to unauthorized local callers.

The attack vector is local, meaning the adversary must already have code execution or app-install capability on the device. However, no privileges or user interaction are required, so any installed app or on-device attacker can trigger the condition. Confidentiality impact is high, while integrity and availability are not affected.

The vulnerability is characteristic of Android inter-process communication (IPC) flaws where an exported component, content provider, or service returns protected data based on a flawed permission check.

Root Cause

The root cause is an incorrect authorization check [CWE-863] within Samsung Health prior to version 7.0.0. The application evaluates the caller's identity or permissions but reaches a permissive decision when it should deny access. This lets unauthorized local processes reach code paths that read sensitive user data.

Attack Vector

A local, unprivileged attacker interacts with the vulnerable Samsung Health component through standard Android IPC. Because no user interaction is required, a malicious application installed on the same device can silently query the exported interface and receive sensitive information. Samsung has not published exploit details, and no public proof-of-concept is available.

See the Samsung Mobile Security Advisory for vendor-supplied technical details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-21076

Indicators of Compromise

Installation of Samsung Health versions earlier than 7.0.0 on managed Android devices
Third-party applications issuing IPC calls to Samsung Health components without a legitimate integration reason
Unexpected reads of Samsung Health data followed by network egress from an unrelated application

Detection Strategies

Inventory installed mobile applications and flag any Samsung Health package with a versionName below 7.0.0
Use Mobile Threat Defense (MTD) or Mobile Device Management (MDM) telemetry to identify sideloaded or low-reputation apps that query Samsung Health providers or services
Correlate application behavior with permission grants to detect apps that read health data without a user-facing feature that justifies the access

Monitoring Recommendations

Track Samsung Health version compliance across the mobile fleet as a continuous configuration check
Alert on new applications installed on devices that also host Samsung Health, and prioritize review of apps requesting broad IPC access
Monitor vendor advisories at Samsung Mobile Security for updates related to this CVE

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-21076

Immediate Actions Required

Update Samsung Health to version 7.0.0 or later on all managed devices through the Galaxy Store or Google Play
Enforce a minimum Samsung Health version policy via MDM and block noncompliant devices from accessing corporate resources
Remove untrusted or unnecessary third-party applications from devices that store sensitive Samsung Health data

Patch Information

Samsung addressed the incorrect authorization flaw in Samsung Health 7.0.0. Refer to the Samsung Mobile Security Advisory for the official fix reference. Users should install the update through their normal app store update channel.

Workarounds

If updating immediately is not possible, restrict app installation to vetted sources and disable sideloading through MDM policy
Revoke Samsung Health data-sharing permissions for any third-party integrations that are not strictly required
On high-risk devices, uninstall or disable Samsung Health until the patched version is deployed

bash

# Verify installed Samsung Health version via ADB
adb shell dumpsys package com.sec.android.app.shealth | grep versionName
# Expected output on patched devices: versionName=7.0.0 or higher