dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2023-20837

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-09-04
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 seninf, 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: ALPS07992786; Issue ID: ALPS07992786.

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 missing bounds check in the seninf (sensor interface) driver allows an out-of-bounds write vulnerability, which can be exploited for local privilege escalation from System privileges. The vulnerability does not require user interaction.

MitigationApply the vendor patch (ALPS07992786) through device firmware updates. Since this is a MediaTek ALPS component, contact the device manufacturer or MediaTek for the patched seninf driver.

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. Confirm MediaTek chipset in use
    Run 'getprop ro.mediatek.platform' or 'getprop ro.hardware' to verify the device uses a MediaTek SoC
    Affected if The device does not use a MediaTek chipset (seninf is a MediaTek-specific driver)
  2. Check Android version
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' or check Settings > About Phone > Android version
    Affected if Android version is 12.0 or 13.0 exactly (versions listed as affected)
  3. Verify seninf driver is present
    Check /proc/modules for seninf module, or look for seninf device nodes in /dev/, or check kernel config for CONFIG_MEDIA_SENINF
    Affected if The seninf driver is not loaded or not present on the device
  4. Check driver version if accessible
    If seninf device node exists, read driver info via 'cat /sys/class/video4linux/*/name' or check module info with 'modinfo seninf' if module is loadable
    Affected if Unable to retrieve seninf driver version for comparison
  5. Confirm System-level access already obtained
    Note that this vulnerability enables privilege escalation FROM System user TO root, so the attacker would already need System-level access
    Affected if The device has not been compromised to System-level access yet (prerequisite for this exploit)

Device is affected if it runs Android 12.0 or 13.0 on a MediaTek chipset with the seninf driver present, since exploitation allows escalation from System to root privileges without user interaction

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 the vendor patch (ALPS07992786) through device firmware updates. Since this is a MediaTek ALPS component, contact the device manufacturer or MediaTek for the patched seninf driver.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

MediaTek ALPS update containing patch ALPS07992786 (check device manufacturer or MediaTek for specific release version)

  1. Check for system updates on the affected MediaTek Android device (versions 12.0 and 13.0)
  2. Navigate to Settings > System > Software Update (or Settings > About Phone > System Update)
  3. Ensure the device is connected to Wi-Fi and has sufficient battery
  4. Download and install any available system updates that include the MediaTek ALPS07992786 patch
  5. After update completion, verify the device is running a patched Android version

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-2023-20837 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