dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2023-20915

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 addOrReplacePhoneAccount of PhoneAccountRegistrar.java, there is a possible way to enable a phone account without user interaction due to a logic error in the code. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android-10 Android-11 Android-12 Android-12L Android-13Android ID: A-246930197

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 logic error in the addOrReplacePhoneAccount function of PhoneAccountRegistrar.java allows a local attacker to enable/register phone accounts without user interaction, bypassing authentication checks. This enables local privilege escalation as the attacker can add arbitrary phone accounts to the system without consent.

MitigationApply the Android security patch for the affected versions (Android 10-13). Organizations should inventory affected devices and ensure timely patch deployment. Monitor device configurations for unauthorized phone account additions.

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:= 10.0= 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
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB
    Affected if The version is 10.0, 11.0, 12.0, 12.1, or 13.0
  2. Identify PhoneAccountRegistrar presence
    Check for the presence of TelecomManager service: run 'dumpsys telecom' via ADB or inspect /data/system/users/0/phoneaccounts.xml
    Affected if TelecomManager is available and phone account configuration files exist on the device
  3. Enumerate registered phone accounts
    Run 'adb shell dumpsys telecom | grep -i phoneaccount' or check /data/system/users/0/phoneaccounts.xml for any unexpected entries
    Affected if There are phone accounts registered that were not authorized by the device owner or user
  4. Review system logs for account modifications
    Run 'logcat -d | grep -i "PhoneAccount"' via ADB to look for addOrReplacePhoneAccount events
    Affected if Logs show phone account additions or modifications without corresponding user interaction events

A device is affected if it runs Android 10-13 and has unauthorized phone accounts registered in the TelecomManager, indicating exploitation of this vulnerability.

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 Android security patch for the affected versions (Android 10-13). Organizations should inventory affected devices and ensure timely patch deployment. Monitor device configurations for unauthorized phone account additions.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Android 13 (or latest available Android version for your device)

  1. Check your current Android version in Settings > About Phone > Android version
  2. Upgrade to Android 13 or later to receive the security patch that fixes this vulnerability
  3. If Android 13 is not available for your device, check for the latest available system update from your device manufacturer
  4. Ensure the security patch level is June 2023 or later (the month when this vulnerability was addressed)
Caveat Upgrading to a new Android version may cause compatibility issues with older apps or require a factory reset on some devices; check manufacturer upgrade notes

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,920
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,672.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-20915 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2023-20915 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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