CVE-2023-20985
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 BTA_GATTS_HandleValueIndication of bta_gatts_api.cc, there is a possible out of bounds write due to improper input validation. 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-245915315
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 confidenceAn out-of-bounds write vulnerability exists in the Bluetooth GATT server component (BTA_GATTS_HandleValueIndication in bta_gatts_api.cc) in Android 13. The function fails to properly validate input before writing to memory, allowing a local attacker to escalate privileges without user interaction or additional execution privileges.
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= 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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check Android versionNavigate to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'adb shell getprop ro.build.version.release'Affected if Version displayed is exactly 13.0 (not 13.0.1 or later)
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Confirm Bluetooth is enabledCheck if Bluetooth is turned on in Settings > Bluetooth, or run 'adb shell settings get global bluetooth_on'Affected if Bluetooth is enabled and the device is Android 13.0
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Verify GATT server capability is in useCheck if any app is using Bluetooth GATT server functionality (BluetoothGattServer API), or monitor Bluetooth traffic for GATT operationsAffected if Android 13.0 with Bluetooth enabled and GATT server operations are occurring
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Check for vendor-specific patch statusRun 'adb shell getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' to check the security patch levelAffected if Security patch level is earlier than the official fix for A-245915315 (typically March 2023 or earlier on Android 13.0)
A device is affected if it is running Android 13.0 (exact version), has Bluetooth enabled, and the security patch level predates the fix for CVE-2023-20985.
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 official Android patch for CVE-2023-20985 (A-245915315) which corrects input validation in the BTA_GATTS_HandleValueIndication function to prevent the out-of-bounds write.
Android 13 with subsequent security patch (Android security bulletin containing fix for A-245915315)
- 1. Go to Settings on the Android device
- 2. Navigate to System > Security & privacy > Security update
- 3. Check for and install any available Android security updates
- 4. Ensure the device receives the security patch level that includes the fix for A-245915315
- 5. After updating, verify the Bluetooth functionality works correctly
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-2023-20985 — 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-2023-20985 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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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.
- 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