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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2023-20811

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-08-07
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 IOMMU, 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: DTV03692061; Issue ID: DTV03692061.

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

IOMMU component contains an out-of-bounds write vulnerability due to a missing bounds check, allowing a local attacker with existing System privileges to escalate to higher privileges. The flaw is a classic buffer overflow in input-output memory management validation logic.

MitigationApply vendor patch DTV03692061 which adds proper bounds checking to prevent the out-of-bounds write in the IOMMU driver or firmware.

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
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:= 4.19
AndroidOperating system
Affected:= 10.0= 11.0

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 Linux kernel version
    Run 'uname -r' or 'cat /proc/version' to display the installed kernel version
    Affected if The version begins with 4.19 (e.g., 4.19.0, 4.19.100, etc.)
  2. Check Android OS version
    On the device, go to Settings > About Phone and note the Android version listed
    Affected if The Android version is exactly 10.0 or 11.0
  3. Verify IOMMU is enabled in boot configuration
    Examine /proc/cmdline or /boot/grub/grub.cfg for 'intel_iommu=on', 'amd_iommu=on', or similar IOMMU boot parameters
    Affected if IOMMU is enabled in the kernel boot parameters
  4. Identify active IOMMU driver
    Check /sys/class/iommu/ for active IOMMU devices, or run 'dmesg | grep -i iommu' to see which IOMMU driver is loaded
    Affected if An IOMMU driver is loaded and actively managing memory translations

You are affected if you run Linux Kernel 4.19.x or Android 10.0/11.0 with an IOMMU driver enabled and actively in use, since the vulnerability exists in the IOMMU validation logic.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply vendor patch DTV03692061 which adds proper bounds checking to prevent the out-of-bounds write in the IOMMU driver or firmware.

Fix this in Linux Kernel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,560
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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-2023-20811 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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