CVE-2023-20637
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 ril, 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: ALPS07628588; Issue ID: ALPS07628588.
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 confidenceIn the Android Radio Interface Layer (ril), a missing bounds check allows an out-of-bounds write, which can lead to local privilege escalation from System execution privileges. The vulnerability requires no user interaction and stems from insufficient input validation in memory access operations within the RIL component.
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= 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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check Android versionGo to Settings > About Phone > Android version or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shellAffected if The version shown is exactly 12.0 or 13.0
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Identify RIL vendor implementationCheck the RIL vendor library in use - typically found in /vendor/lib/ or /system/lib/ directories, or run 'getprop ro.vendor.ril' or 'getprop persist.vendor.radio' via ADB shellAffected if A vendor RIL library is present on the device (this component is always present on Android devices with cellular capability)
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Verify patch integration statusCheck vendor or SOC patch level via 'getprop ro.vendor.patch.level' and compare against ALPS07628588, or check the RIL source code for added bounds checking if accessibleAffected if The patch ALPS07628588 has not been applied and the Android version is 12.0 or 13.0
A device is affected if it runs Android 12.0 or 13.0 exactly and lacks the ALPS07628588 bounds-checking patch in the Radio Interface Layer component.
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 the vendor patch (ALPS07628588) which adds proper bounds checking to prevent the out-of-bounds write. As this is a system-level component, ensure the patch is integrated through official Android/SOC vendor update channels.
- Contact your device manufacturer (OEM) to request the security patch ALPS07628588 for your MediaTek-based Android device
- Verify your device is running Android 12.0 or 13.0 as these versions are affected
- Apply the monthly security update from your device manufacturer that includes MediaTek patch ALPS07628588
- You can verify the patch has been applied by checking your device's security patch level in Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level
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-2023-20637 — 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-2023-20637 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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- 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
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