CVE-2023-20608
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 display drm, there is a possible use after free due to a race condition. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with System execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Patch ID: ALPS07363599; Issue ID: ALPS07363599.
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 · moderate confidenceA use-after-free vulnerability exists in the Linux kernel's Direct Rendering Manager (DRM) display subsystem. The flaw stems from a race condition that leads to a memory object being accessed after it has been freed, potentially allowing a local attacker with system-level privileges to escalate privileges to root.
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= 11.0= 12.0= 13.0CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/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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Check Android versionRun 'getprop ro.build.version.release' or view the Android version in Settings > About PhoneAffected if The version reported is 11.0, 12.0, or 13.0 exactly (these are the affected versions listed)
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Check kernel versionRun 'uname -a' or 'cat /proc/version' to view the running kernel version and build informationAffected if Kernel version is older than the version containing the fix for ALPS07363599 (compare to vendor release notes)
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Verify patch ALPS07363599 presenceCheck vendor-specific kernel configuration or security patch level using 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' and compare against the patch release dateAffected if The security patch level predates the ALPS07363599 fix release, or the patch is not present in the kernel build
User is affected if running Android 11.0, 12.0, or 13.0 and the kernel does not include the ALPS07363599 fix (the CVE is a kernel-level race condition in the DRM subsystem requiring the vendor patch to mitigate)
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.
dbcve · scopedApply kernel patch ALPS07363599 or update to a kernel version containing the fix. Given the race condition nature, ensure proper testing for regressions in DRM functionality.
Latest Android security patch level (January 2023 or later) containing the ALPS07363599 fix
- 1. Check the current Android Security Patch level on the device: Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version or Security Patch level
- 2. Apply the latest Android Security Bulletin update. For CVE-2023-20608, this was addressed in the January 2023 Android Security Update or subsequent updates
- 3. If the device manufacturer has released a specific firmware update containing patch ALPS07363599, install that update through Settings > System > Software Update or equivalent
- 4. Verify the patch was applied by confirming the Security Patch level reflects the updated date after installation
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,656.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-20608 — 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-2023-20608 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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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data