dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2023-20639

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 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: ALPS07628587; Issue ID: ALPS07628587.

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 confidence

In the Android Radio Interface Layer (ril), an out-of-bounds write vulnerability exists due to a missing bounds check. This buffer overflow can be exploited locally to escalate privileges to System level execution without requiring user interaction.

MitigationApply vendor patch ALPS07628587 to address the missing bounds check in the RIL component. This is a MediaTek/ALPS-specific patch for Android devices.

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' to retrieve the installed Android version
    Affected if Version is exactly 12.0 or 13.0
  2. Verify MediaTek chipset
    Run 'getprop ro.board.platform' or 'getprop ro.mediatek.platform' to check if the device uses a MediaTek chipset (ALPS refers to MediaTek's Android Linux Platform)
    Affected if Device uses MediaTek hardware (platform contains 'mt' or 'mediatek' in the property value)
  3. Identify RIL component
    Run 'getprop persist.service.ril' or 'ls -la /system/lib*/libreference-ril.so' to locate the Radio Interface Layer implementation
    Affected if A vendor-specific RIL library is present (often located in /system/lib/hw/ or /vendor/lib/)
  4. Check RIL library version
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.sdk' and examine the RIL daemon logs via 'logcat -d | grep -i ril' to identify the specific RIL component version
    Affected if RIL component is present but the vendor patch ALPS07628587 has not been applied

Device is affected if running Android 12.0 or 13.0 on a MediaTek-based device with an unpatched RIL component lacking the ALPS07628587 bounds check fix.

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 ALPS07628587 to address the missing bounds check in the RIL component. This is a MediaTek/ALPS-specific patch for Android devices.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence
  1. 1. Check the current Android security patch level on the device: Settings > About Phone > Android version > Build number or Settings > Security > Security patch level
  2. 2. Identify the device manufacturer and model, as fixes are delivered through OEM-specific updates
  3. 3. Contact the device manufacturer or check their support website for the latest security update containing the fix for CVE-2023-20639 (Patch ID: ALPS07628587)
  4. 4. Apply the available security update once released by the OEM. Android security bulletins typically include MediaTek component fixes in the monthly patch releases
  5. 5. Verify the security patch level has been updated after applying the fix
Caveat Security updates delivered through OEM channels may vary in timing based on device manufacturer support cycles

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
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,680
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2023-20639 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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