dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2023-21004

HIGH · 7.8 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 →
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 getAvailabilityStatus of several Transcode Permission Controllers, there is a possible permission bypass due to a missing permission check. 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-261193664

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 permission bypass vulnerability exists in the getAvailabilityStatus function of Transcode Permission Controllers in Android-13. The vulnerability stems from a missing permission check that allows local privilege escalation without requiring additional execution privileges or user interaction.

MitigationApply the Android security patch for Android-13 that addresses the missing permission check in Transcode Permission Controllers. Users should ensure their devices receive the latest Google security 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
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 version
    Run 'adb shell getprop ro.build.version.release' or check Settings > About Phone > Android version
    Affected if Version is exactly 13.0 (not 13.0.1 or later)
  2. Check Android SDK version
    Run 'adb shell getprop ro.build.version.sdk'
    Affected if SDK version is 33 (Android 13.0) and has not been patched
  3. Verify build fingerprint for patch status
    Run 'adb shell getprop ro.build.fingerprint' and compare against Google's Android 13 security patch dates
    Affected if Build predates the November 2023 Android security patch for CVE-2023-21004
  4. Check if Transcode Permission Controllers are present
    Inspect system logs or framework JARs for 'TranscodePermissionController' or 'getAvailabilityStatus' references using 'adb shell dumpsys package' or decompile framework JARs
    Affected if Transcode Permission Controller component exists and the getAvailabilityStatus function lacks permission enforcement

Device is affected if running Android 13.0 (SDK 33) without the November 2023 security patch, where the getAvailabilityStatus function in Transcode Permission Controllers can be invoked without proper permission checks.

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 the missing permission check in Transcode Permission Controllers. Users should ensure their devices receive the latest Google security updates.

Recommended fix High confidence

Any Android version with security patch level higher than Android 13 (check Android Security Bulletin for the specific month this CVE was fixed)

  1. Check your current Android version by going to Settings > About Phone > Android version
  2. Go to Settings > System > Software Update (or Settings > About Phone > Software Update)
  3. Check for updates and install any available security updates
  4. If no update is available, contact your device manufacturer or carrier for update information
  5. After updating, verify the security patch level is higher than the affected version (Android 13)
Caveat Security updates are generally backward compatible with minimal risk; ensure backup of important data before updating

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
24.0 hours of engineering $4,160
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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-2023-21004 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