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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2023-20636

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 display drm, 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: ALPS07292593; Issue ID: ALPS07292593.

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

A missing bounds check in the Linux kernel's Direct Rendering Manager (DRM) display subsystem allows an out-of-bounds write vulnerability. An attacker with System execution privileges can exploit this to escalate to higher privileges. The vulnerability requires no user interaction.

MitigationApply patch ALPS07292593 or update the kernel to a version containing the fix. Verify that the DRM graphics subsystem functions correctly after patching.

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
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shell
    Affected if Version is exactly 12.0 or 13.0
  2. Check kernel version
    Run 'uname -a' or 'cat /proc/version' via ADB shell to display the kernel version string
    Affected if Kernel version does not contain the security fix (kernel version predates the ALPS07292593 patch)
  3. Verify DRM subsystem is active
    Check if /dev/dri/ exists and contains device nodes (run 'ls -la /dev/dri/' via ADB shell)
    Affected if DRM graphics subsystem is present and loaded on the device
  4. Confirm system privileges exist
    Determine if the device has an attacker with system-level execution capability (the exploit requires System execution privileges to trigger)
    Affected if Attacker already has System-level code execution on the device

Device is affected only if running Android 12.0 or 13.0 with a kernel version prior to the ALPS07292593 patch fix and the attacker has System execution privileges.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply patch ALPS07292593 or update the kernel to a version containing the fix. Verify that the DRM graphics subsystem functions correctly after patching.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
24.0 hours of engineering $4,160
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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-2023-20636 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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