dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2023-20912

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-01-26
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 onActivityResult of AvatarPickerActivity.java, there is a possible way to access images belonging to other users due to a missing permission check. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android-13Android ID: A-246301995

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 AvatarPickerActivity, the onActivityResult callback lacks a proper permission check, allowing a malicious local application to intercept and access image data intended for other users. This enables a local privilege escalation where an app can obtain images belonging to other users or system components without requiring elevated privileges or user interaction.

MitigationThe fix requires adding appropriate permission validation in the onActivityResult method of AvatarPickerActivity to ensure the calling package is authorized to receive the image result. Android-13 systems require the patch integrated through the system update mechanism.

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:= 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. Verify Android version is 13.0
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shell
    Affected if The device is running Android 13.0 exactly (version 13.0 is the only affected version listed)
  2. Confirm AvatarPickerActivity component exists
    Check if the component is present in the system by examining the Settings app APK or running 'dumpsys package com.android.settings | grep AvatarPickerActivity' via ADB shell
    Affected if The AvatarPickerActivity component is present on the device, indicating the vulnerable code path exists
  3. Identify if any third-party apps have custom AvatarPicker implementations
    Run 'pm list packages -3' and inspect any apps that may have replaced or interact with the avatar picker functionality, or check for apps with READ_CONTACTS or GET_ACCOUNTS permissions that are not system apps
    Affected if A non-system app has permissions or components that could intercept Activity results intended for the system AvatarPickerActivity
  4. Check system security patch level
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Security patch level, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADB shell
    Affected if The security patch level is earlier than the date when the CVE fix was released for Android 13.0 (the exact date varies by carrier/device manufacturer)

A device is affected if it runs Android 13.0 and has not received the framework security update that adds permission validation to AvatarPicker's onActivityResult callback.

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

The fix requires adding appropriate permission validation in the onActivityResult method of AvatarPickerActivity to ensure the calling package is authorized to receive the image result. Android-13 systems require the patch integrated through the system update mechanism.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android 13 with March 2023 Security Patch Level (or later)

  1. 1. Check the current Android security patch level on the device: Go to Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level
  2. 2. Verify the device has received the March 2023 Android Security Bulletin or later security patch level
  3. 3. If the device has not received the security update, check for system updates from the device manufacturer: Go to Settings > System > Software Update > Check for Updates
  4. 4. Apply any available system updates that include the March 2023 security patch or later
  5. 5. After updating, verify the new security patch level includes the fix for CVE-2023-20912 by checking Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level shows a date of March 2023 or later
Caveat Standard Android security updates typically do not introduce breaking changes; however, verify device compatibility with manufacturer 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
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
30.0 hours of engineering $5,120
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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-2023-20912 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