CVE-2023-20643
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: ALPS07628584; Issue ID: ALPS07628584.
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 Android's RIL (Radio Interface Layer), a missing bounds check allows an out-of-bounds write, enabling local privilege escalation from System execution privileges. This is a memory safety vulnerability in the telephony subsystem that could be exploited 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 The version is exactly 12.0 or 13.0
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Confirm RIL component is presentCheck for /vendor/lib64/libril.so or /system/lib64/libril.so existence, or run 'getprop telephony.ril.libpath' via ADB shellAffected if The RIL library exists (typical on any Android phone with cellular capability)
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Verify patch ALPS07628584 statusCheck build fingerprint or security patch level via 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' or 'getprop ro.vendor.build.fingerprint' via ADB shellAffected if The security patch level is earlier than the vendor release containing ALPS07628584, or the fingerprint does not contain the fix
A device is affected if it runs Android 12.0 or 13.0 and the vendor patch ALPS07628584 has not been applied to the RIL 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 vendor patch ALPS07628584 which adds the missing bounds check in the RIL component. As this is a system-level telephony component, patching the Android system image is the primary remediation.
Android Security Patch Level containing ALPS07628584 (typically the January 2023 or subsequent Android security update)
- Check if your device uses a MediaTek chipset by reviewing the device specifications
- Contact your device manufacturer (OEM) to verify if the ALPS07628584 patch has been incorporated into their security update
- Apply the latest Android Security Patch Level (SPL) for your Android version (12.0 or 13.0) from your device manufacturer
- If available, apply the MediaTek-specific firmware update containing the ALPS07628584 patch
- Verify successful installation by checking the Android 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
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA6.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,192.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-20643 — 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-2023-20643 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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