dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2023-20906

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-03-24
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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 onPackageAddedInternal of PermissionManagerService.java, there is a possible way to silently grant a permission after a Target SDK update due to a permissions bypass. This could lead to local escalation of privilege after updating an app to a higher Target SDK with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android-11 Android-12 Android-12L Android-13Android ID: A-221040577

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 · high confidence

In Android's PermissionManagerService (onPackageAddedInternal), a permissions bypass allows silent granting of permissions when an app updates to a higher Target SDK. This enables local privilege escalation without user interaction or additional execution privileges.

MitigationThis OS-level vulnerability requires a system-level patch from Google/AOSP and downstream device manufacturers. Organizations should ensure devices receive timely Android security updates.

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:= 11.0= 12.0= 12.1= 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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 OS version
    Navigate to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run `getprop ro.build.version.release` via ADB shell
    Affected if Version equals 11, 12.0, 12.1, or 13.0 exactly
  2. Verify security patch level
    Navigate to Settings > About Phone > Security patch level, or run `getprop ro.build.version.security_patch`
    Affected if The security patch level is earlier than the Google fix for CVE-2023-20906 (the specific patch date varies by Android version)
  3. Confirm no app-specific configuration
    This vulnerability is in the system PermissionManagerService, not in any app configuration. No app settings or permissions need to be enabled for this flaw to exist.
    Affected if N/A - the vulnerability is inherent to the OS version itself when unpatched

Your device is affected if it runs Android 11, 12.0, 12.1, or 13.0 and has not received the Google security update containing the fix for CVE-2023-20906.

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

This OS-level vulnerability requires a system-level patch from Google/AOSP and downstream device manufacturers. Organizations should ensure devices receive timely Android security updates.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Update to the latest available Android security patch for your device model (the fix is delivered through monthly security updates, not a version upgrade)

  1. Check your Android device for available system updates by going to Settings > System > Software Update (or Settings > About Phone > System Update)
  2. Ensure your Android device has the latest security patch level installed
  3. For Android 11, 12, 12.1, and 13 devices, apply the security update that addresses CVE-2023-20906 (refer to the Android Security Bulletin for the specific patch date containing this fix)
  4. After updating, verify the security patch level in Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level reflects the updated date
Caveat Security patches do not introduce breaking changes; they are backward-compatible fixes

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,720
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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-2023-20906 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