Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian
CVE-2020-0423
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedIn binder_release_work of binder.c, there is a possible use-after-free due to improper locking. This could lead to local escalation of privilege in the kernel with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android kernelAndroid ID: A-161151868References: N/A
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceA use-after-free vulnerability exists in the Android kernel's binder subsystem (binder_release_work function in binder.c) due to improper locking. This memory safety issue allows a local attacker to potentially reuse freed memory, leading to local privilege escalation in the kernel context without requiring additional execution privileges or user interaction.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data
Debian LinuxOperating system
= 9.0all versionsCVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the operating systemRun 'uname -a' or check /etc/os-release to confirm the OS is Android or Debian 9.xAffected if The OS is Android (any version) or Debian Linux version 9.0
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Check if the binder driver is presentLook for binder-related kernel modules or driver files: 'ls /sys/kernel/debug/binder' (Android) or check for 'binder' in kernel config: 'cat /boot/config-$(uname -r) | grep CONFIG_ANDROID_BINDER'Affected if The binder driver is compiled into the kernel or loaded as a module
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Determine the kernel versionRun 'uname -r' to get the running kernel versionAffected if The kernel version is older than the patched version for this CVE (specific version varies by vendor/distribution)
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Verify the binder subsystem is actively usedCheck for binder-related processes or device nodes: 'ls -la /dev/binder*' on Android, or examine if any processes are communicating via binder IPCAffected if The binder IPC mechanism is actively in use on the device
A system is affected if it runs Android or Debian 9.0 with a vulnerable kernel version that contains the binder driver, and the security patch for CVE-2020-0423 has not been applied.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataApply the vendor-supplied kernel patch that corrects the locking mechanism in binder_release_work to prevent the race condition causing the use-after-free. Update to a kernel version containing the fix.
Fix this in Debian Linux
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA6.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $9,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-0423 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-0423 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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