CVE-2023-20921
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 · uneditedIn onPackageRemoved of AccessibilityManagerService.java, there is a possibility to automatically grant accessibility services 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 needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android-10 Android-11 Android-12 Android-12L Android-13Android ID: A-243378132
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 confidenceA logic error in the onPackageRemoved method of AccessibilityManagerService.java allows automatic granting of accessibility services without proper validation during package removal processes. This enables a local attacker to escalate privileges by having accessibility services granted automatically, bypassing the normal user consent 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= 10.0= 11.0= 12.0= 12.1= 13.0CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check Android versionGo to Settings > About Phone > Android version and note the displayed version numberAffected if Version is 10.x, 11.x, 12.x, 12.1.x, or 13.x (including 10.0, 11.0, 12.0, 12.1.0, 13.0)
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Check security patch levelGo to Settings > About Phone > Security patch level and note the dateAffected if Security patch level is earlier than February 1, 2023 (2023-02-01)
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Review enabled accessibility servicesGo to Settings > Accessibility > Services and list all applications with accessibility service permissions enabledAffected if Any accessibility service is enabled for an untrusted or unexpected application
Your device is affected if it runs Android 10.x, 11.x, 12.x, 12.1.x, or 13.x with a security patch level before February 2023, or if untrusted apps have accessibility service permissions unexpectedly granted.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scopedApply the vendor-provided Android security patch (2023-02-01 or later) to address this vulnerability. Users should verify that accessibility service permissions are only granted to trusted applications through device settings.
Android Security Patch Level May 2023 or later (or latest available security update for your device)
- 1. Go to Settings on the Android device
- 2. Navigate to System > Security & privacy (or Security on some devices)
- 3. Tap on Security update or Patch level
- 4. Ensure the device has the latest Android security patch installed
- 5. If an update is available, download and install it
- 6. After updating, verify the patch level under Settings > System > About phone > Android version shows the latest security patch date
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $7,616.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-20921 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-20921 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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