AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2023-20627

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-03-07
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
69/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click

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 · unedited
In pqframework, there is a possible out of bounds write due to a missing bounds check. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with System execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Patch ID: ALPS07629585; Issue ID: ALPS07629585.

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 confidence

An out-of-bounds write vulnerability exists in pqframework due to a missing bounds check. This allows a local attacker with System-level execution privileges to write beyond allocated memory boundaries, potentially achieving privilege escalation without user interaction.

MitigationApply vendor patch ALPS07629585 which implements proper bounds checking to prevent the out-of-bounds write condition in pqframework.

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
AndroidOperating system
Affected:= 12.0= 13.0

CVSS 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
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check Android version
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' or check Settings > About Phone > Android version
    Affected if The version is exactly 12.0 or 13.0
  2. Verify pqframework component exists
    Check for pqframework library in system directories: 'ls /system/lib64/libpqframework.so' or 'ls /vendor/lib64/libpqframework.so' (paths may vary by device)
    Affected if pqframework library is present on the device
  3. Confirm system-level execution context
    Determine if your application or process runs with system-level privileges (uid 1000 or shell) using 'ps -A | grep <process>' and 'id' command
    Affected if Process runs with system-level (UID 1000) or shell privileges and pqframework is accessible
  4. Check for vendor patch ALPS07629585
    Query system build properties for patch level: 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' or check Settings > About Phone > Android security patch level
    Affected if Security patch level is earlier than the vendor fix date for ALPS07629585

You are affected if running Android 12.0 or 13.0 with pqframework present and without the vendor security patch that adds proper bounds checking.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply vendor patch ALPS07629585 which implements proper bounds checking to prevent the out-of-bounds write condition in pqframework.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest available Android security patch level (January 2024 or later security update recommended)

  1. Apply the latest Android security update for your device. Check Settings > Security > Security update to ensure you have the most recent patch level.
  2. Verify with your device manufacturer (OEM) that they have integrated MediaTek patch ALPS07629585 into their security update.
  3. For enterprise/managed devices, ensure Mobile Device Management (MDM) policies are applied to restrict system-level access to trusted applications only.

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,080
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,328.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-20627 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-20627 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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