CVE-2023-21038
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 cs40l2x_cp_trigger_queue_show of cs40l2x.c, there is a possible out of bounds write due to a use after free. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with System execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android kernelAndroid ID: A-224000736References: 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 · moderate confidenceA use-after-free vulnerability in the cs40l2x haptic driver (cs40l2x.c) allows an attacker with System execution privileges to trigger an out-of-bounds write. The vulnerability exists in the cp_trigger_queue_show function, where memory is freed but still referenced, leading to potential memory corruption and local privilege escalation.
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 dataall versionsCVSS 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
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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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Identify cs40l2x haptic driver presenceCheck if the cs40l2x driver is loaded or present on the device. On Android, this can be verified by examining /proc/modules, lsmod output, or checking for the driver node (typically under /sys/class/haptic/ or /dev/input/)Affected if The device has the cs40l2x haptic driver loaded and the cp_trigger_queue_show function is accessible via sysfs at /sys/class/haptic/cs40l2x*/cp_trigger_queue or similar path
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Verify cp_trigger_queue_show function accessibilityAttempt to read the cp_trigger_queue sysfs attribute if it exists. This function is called when reading this attribute and is where the use-after-free occursAffected if The cp_trigger_queue_show function is exposed and readable, indicating the vulnerable code path is present
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Check Android security patch levelOn the Android device, go to Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via adb shellAffected if The security patch level is earlier than the date when the fix for CVE-2023-21038 was released (Google Android security bulletins for October 2023 or later)
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Confirm kernel versionRun 'uname -r' via adb shell or check /proc/version to determine the running kernel versionAffected if The kernel version predates the inclusion of the cs40l2x driver fix for this use-after-free vulnerability
A user is affected if the device has the cs40l2x haptic driver present and the Android security patch level is older than the October 2023 security update that addressed this CVE.
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.
From vendor dataThis kernel driver vulnerability requires a patch to the cs40l2x driver to properly manage memory references and eliminate the use-after-free condition. The fix would be delivered through Android kernel security updates.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA6.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-21038 — 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-2023-21038 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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