CVE-2023-20641
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: ALPS07629574; Issue ID: ALPS07629574.
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 confidenceAn out-of-bounds write vulnerability in Android's RIL (Radio Interface Layer) caused by a missing bounds check. This allows local privilege escalation from System-level execution to elevated privileges without user interaction.
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 Version is exactly 12.0 or 13.0
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Confirm telephony subsystem is presentVerify the device has cellular radio capability by checking for /dev/smd* files in /dev/ or running 'getprop ro.telephony.default_network' via ADB shellAffected if Device has an active RIL/telephony subsystem (this is the vulnerable component)
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Check security patch levelGo to Settings > About Phone > Security patch level, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADB shellAffected if Patch level is earlier than the vendor security patch containing ALPS07629574 (dates prior to the fix release)
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Verify system-level execution contextConfirm you are running with System-level privileges (not root) by checking 'whoami' or process privileges via ADBAffected if You have System-level access and the RIL is accessible, as the privilege escalation moves from System to elevated privileges
Your device is affected if it runs Android 12.0 or 13.0, has an active telephony/RIL subsystem, and has not received the vendor security patch containing ALPS07629574.
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 security patch ALPS07629574 through the standard Android monthly security update process. As this is a platform-level fix in the radio interface, thorough telephony regression testing is required after patching.
Apply MediaTek patch ALPS07629574 via OEM security update (Android Security Bulletin for the month the patch was released)
- 1. Obtain the MediaTek security patch ALPS07629574 from MediaTek or your device OEM
- 2. Apply the patch through your device manufacturer's OTA (Over-The-Air) update system
- 3. Verify the patch has been applied by checking the Android Security Patch Level in Settings > About Phone > Software Information
- 4. Confirm the device is running the patched Android version (12.0 or 13.0) with the MediaTek ALPS07629574 patch integrated
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing16.0 h
- Review / QA8.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $9,728.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-20641 — 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-2023-20641 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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