{"id":"CVE-2018-14994","url":"https://www.cyber-defence.io/tools/cve/CVE-2018-14994","generatedAt":"2026-10-28T21:27:05.532Z","title":"The Essential Phone Android device with a build fingerprint of essential/mata/mata:8.1.0/OPM1.180104.166/297:user/release-keys contains a pre-installed platform app with a package name of com.ts.android.hiddenmenu (versionName=1.0,…","description":"The Essential Phone Android device with a build fingerprint of essential/mata/mata:8.1.0/OPM1.180104.166/297:user/release-keys contains a pre-installed platform app with a package name of com.ts.android.hiddenmenu (versionName=1.0, platformBuildVersionName=8.1.0) that contains an exported activity app component named com.ts.android.hiddenmenu.rtn.RTNResetActivity that allows any app co-located on the device to programmatically initiate a factory reset. In addition, the app initiating the factory reset does not require any permissions. A factory reset will remove all user data and apps from the device. This will result in the loss of any data that have not been backed up or synced externally. The capability to perform a factory reset is not directly available to third-party apps (those that the user installs themselves with the exception of enabled Mobile Device Management (MDM) apps), although this capability can be obtained by leveraging an unprotected app component of a pre-installed platform app.","published":"2019-04-25T20:29:01.000Z","lastModified":"2026-06-17T01:42:03.000Z","status":"Modified","sourceIdentifier":"cve@mitre.org","cvss":{"version":"3.0","score":7.5,"severity":"HIGH","vector":"CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N"},"cwe":["CWE-20"],"affected":["essential/phone firmware"],"epss":{"score":0.02016,"percentile":0.80809,"date":"2026-10-27","history":[]},"kev":{"listed":false},"exploits":{"count":0,"verified":false,"firstPublished":null,"source":"Exploit-DB (https://gitlab.com/exploit-database/exploitdb)","entries":[]},"verdict":{"level":"high","text":"High impact if exploited, but EPSS currently rates exploitation as unlikely (2.02%). Schedule it in the normal patch cycle and watch for a rise in EPSS or a public exploit."},"changes":[],"references":[{"url":"https://www.kryptowire.com","tags":["Third Party Advisory"],"source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"https://www.kryptowire.com/portal/android-firmware-defcon-2018/","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"https://www.kryptowire.com/portal/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/DEFCON-26-Johnson-and-Stavrou-Vulnerable-Out-of-the-Box-An-Eval-of-Android-Carrier-Devices-WP-Updated.pdf","tags":["Third Party Advisory"],"source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"https://www.kryptowire.com","tags":["Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://www.kryptowire.com/portal/android-firmware-defcon-2018/","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://www.kryptowire.com/portal/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/DEFCON-26-Johnson-and-Stavrou-Vulnerable-Out-of-the-Box-An-Eval-of-Android-Carrier-Devices-WP-Updated.pdf","tags":["Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"}],"sources":{"nvd":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-14994","epss":"https://www.first.org/epss/","kev":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","exploitdb":"https://www.exploit-db.com/"},"licence":"CC BY 4.0 — link back to the CVE Explorer if you publish the results; upstream data remains subject to its own terms."}