AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2023-20949

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-02-15
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
57/100
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 s2mpg11_pmic_probe of s2mpg11-regulator.c, there is a possible out of bounds read due to a heap buffer overflow. This could lead to local information disclosure with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android kernelAndroid ID: A-259323133References: N/A

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

A heap buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the s2mpg11_pmic_probe function of the s2mpg11-regulator.c kernel driver. The driver fails to properly validate buffer bounds before reading, allowing an out of bounds read that exposes heap memory contents to local attackers without requiring elevated privileges or user interaction.

MitigationUpdate the Android kernel to a version containing the patched s2mpg11-regulator.c driver with proper bounds checking implemented in the pmic_probe function. If upstream patch unavailable, audit and add boundary checks before heap buffer accesses in the affected driver code.

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:all versions

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
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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. Locate the s2mpg11-regulator driver in the kernel
    Search for the driver file in the kernel source tree (drivers/regulator/s2mpg11-regulator.c) or as a kernel module (s2mpg11-regulator.ko) in /lib/modules/ or the boot image
    Affected if The driver file or module is present on the device
  2. Identify the s2mpg11_pmic_probe function
    Open the s2mpg11-regulator.c source file and locate the s2mpg11_pmic_probe function definition
    Affected if The function exists in the driver code
  3. Check for missing buffer bounds validation
    Review the s2mpg11_pmic_probe function for heap buffer access operations (such as memcpy, memmove, or buffer reads) and verify if each has proper length/boundary checks before the operation
    Affected if Heap buffer accesses in the function lack proper bounds validation before reading
  4. Confirm the vulnerable code path is reachable
    Verify that the driver is actually loaded or built into the running kernel (check /proc/modules, /sys/module/, or kernel cmdline)
    Affected if The driver is loaded and the vulnerable code path can be triggered

If the s2mpg11-regulator driver is present and the s2mpg11_pmic_probe function contains heap buffer reads without proper bounds checking, the device is affected by this CVE.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update the Android kernel to a version containing the patched s2mpg11-regulator.c driver with proper bounds checking implemented in the pmic_probe function. If upstream patch unavailable, audit and add boundary checks before heap buffer accesses in the affected driver code.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2023-20949 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