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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2023-20686

MEDIUM · 6.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-04-06
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
66/100
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 double free due to a race condition. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with System execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Patch ID: ALPS07570826; Issue ID: ALPS07570826.

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 double-free vulnerability exists in the display DRM (Direct Rendering Manager) subsystem due to a race condition. The vulnerability allows a local attacker with System execution privileges to potentially achieve privilege escalation through memory corruption. User interaction is not required for exploitation.

MitigationApply vendor patch ALPS07570826 to address the race condition and prevent the double-free in the display DRM component. Verify the fix does not introduce regressions in graphics display functionality.

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
High
Privileges
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/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' or check Settings > About Phone > Android version
    Affected if Version is 12.0 or 13.0 exactly (not 12L, 12S, or 13 with different build numbers)
  2. Identify kernel version
    Run 'uname -r' or check /proc/version
    Affected if Kernel version corresponds to the affected Android quarterly security update timeline (contact vendor for specific kernel version numbers matching ALPS07570826 patch)
  3. Verify display DRM module is loaded
    Check /proc/modules or run 'lsmod' to list loaded kernel modules, look for DRM-related modules (e.g., msm_drm, drm_kms_helper, or vendor-specific display DRM modules)
    Affected if Display DRM kernel module is present and loaded into memory
  4. Confirm System-level execution context
    Determine if the checking process has System privileges by running 'id' or checking process UID via 'ps' command
    Affected if Process context has System user ID (UID 1000) or higher privileges, as the attacker requires System-level access to trigger the race condition

Environment is affected if running Android 12.0 or 13.0 with a kernel/DRM driver version that includes the vulnerable code path and the attacker has System-level 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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply vendor patch ALPS07570826 to address the race condition and prevent the double-free in the display DRM component. Verify the fix does not introduce regressions in graphics display functionality.

Recommended fix High confidence

Latest Android Security Patch Level (January 2024 or later) that includes MediaTek patch ALPS07570826

  1. 1. Check the Android Security Patch Level (SPL) on the device by going to Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level
  2. 2. Verify if the device has received the Android security update for the month containing the MediaTek patch ALPS07570826
  3. 3. If the device is still on an affected version (Android 12.0 or 13.0 without the patch), check for available system updates from the device manufacturer
  4. 4. Apply any available system updates that include the latest Android Security Bulletin
  5. 5. After updating, verify the Security Patch Level reflects a date that includes the fix for this vulnerability (typically January 2024 or later security patches)
Caveat Ensure device compatibility before updating; some older MediaTek devices may stop receiving updates

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

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-2023-20686 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