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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2023-20979

MEDIUM · 5.5 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 →
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 GetNextSourceDataPacket of bta_av_co.cc, there is a possible out of bounds read due to a missing bounds check. This could lead to local information disclosure with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android-13Android ID: A-259939364

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

This is an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in the Android Bluetooth stack (bta_av_co.cc) within the GetNextSourceDataPacket function. The missing bounds check allows a local attacker to read memory beyond the intended buffer boundaries, leading to information disclosure. No user interaction or additional privileges are required for exploitation.

MitigationApply the Android security patch for Android-13 that addresses this vulnerability. Since this is a Bluetooth component vulnerability, no user action is needed beyond installing system 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:= 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
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. Verify Android version is 13.0
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB
    Affected if Android version equals 13.0 (exactly)
  2. Confirm Bluetooth is enabled
    Check Settings > Bluetooth, or run 'settings get global bluetooth_on' via ADB
    Affected if Bluetooth is turned on (value is 1) - the vulnerable code path is only active when Bluetooth is enabled
  3. Check the Android security patch level
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Security patch level, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADB
    Affected if The installed security patch predates the fix for this CVE (the specific patch date varies by carrier/device, but the fix was released in Google's Android 13 security updates)
  4. Verify the Bluetooth stack version (optional for advanced users)
    Check the Bluetooth system app version in Settings > Apps > Bluetooth, or inspect the bta_av_co.cc component version if accessible via ADB
    Affected if The Bluetooth component version is older than the patched version that includes the bounds check fix in GetNextSourceDataPacket function

The device is affected if it runs Android 13.0 with Bluetooth enabled and has a security patch level predating the CVE fix.

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 Android-13 that addresses this vulnerability. Since this is a Bluetooth component vulnerability, no user action is needed beyond installing system updates.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android 13 with May 2023 Security Patch Level or later

  1. 1. Navigate to Settings on the Android device
  2. 2. Go to System > System Update (or Security & Privacy > Security Update on some devices)
  3. 3. Check for and install any available system updates
  4. 4. Verify the Android security patch level is May 2023 or later (go to Settings > About Phone > Android version to check the Security patch level)
  5. 5. If no update is available, contact the device manufacturer for the security patch containing the fix for CVE-2023-20979
Caveat Standard Android monthly security update; minimal risk of breaking changes as this is a patch-level update rather than a feature version upgrade

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

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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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-2023-20979 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