dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2023-21059

HIGH · 7.5 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 →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges 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 EUTRAN_LCS_DecodeFacilityInformationElement of LPP_LcsManagement.c, there is a possible out of bounds read due to a missing bounds check. This could lead to remote information disclosure with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android kernelAndroid ID: A-247564044References: 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

An out-of-bounds read vulnerability exists in the EUTRAN_LCS_DecodeFacilityInformationElement function within LPP_LcsManagement.c (part of the LTE Positioning Protocol in Android's kernel). The function lacks proper bounds checking before reading data, allowing an attacker to read memory beyond the allocated buffer boundary. This leads to remote information disclosure with no user interaction or elevated privileges required.

MitigationApply the Android security patch containing the fix for A-247564044. Organizations should ensure devices receive regular Android security updates, as this kernel-level vulnerability requires a vendor patch rather than user-level remediation.

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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. Check Android security patch level
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level and note the date. Alternatively, run `getprop ro.build.version.security_patch` via ADB shell.
    Affected if The security patch level is earlier than the Android security update containing fix A-247564044 (check Google's Android Security Bulletin for the specific release date).
  2. Verify LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) is enabled
    LPP is a kernel-level protocol for LTE location services. Check device network settings or consult device manufacturer documentation for LTE positioning features. On Android, this is typically managed by the baseband modem and not user-configurable.
    Affected if The device has LTE capability and uses LPP for location services, which is standard on LTE-connected Android devices.
  3. Confirm device is receiving kernel-level patches
    Contact the device manufacturer or carrier to verify whether the A-247564044 kernel patch for the LPP_LcsManagement.c component has been applied to the device's baseband/modem firmware.
    Affected if The device manufacturer has not applied the vendor-specific kernel patch containing the fix for this vulnerability.

A device is affected if it is running any Android version and has not received the Android security patch that includes the fix for A-247564044 in the LTE Positioning Protocol kernel component.

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 containing the fix for A-247564044. Organizations should ensure devices receive regular Android security updates, as this kernel-level vulnerability requires a vendor patch rather than user-level remediation.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence
  1. 1. Apply the Android security patch level that addresses CVE-2023-21059. This vulnerability was fixed in the September 2023 Android Security Bulletin.
  2. 2. Verify the device has received the latest Android security update by going to Settings > Security > Security patch level and confirming the date is September 2023 or later.
  3. 3. For enterprise or managed devices, ensure mobile device management (MDM) policies are configured to require and verify minimum security patch levels.
  4. 4. If the device cannot receive security updates (end-of-life device), consider replacing or restricting use of location-based services that utilize LPP (LTE Positioning Protocol).

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
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,560
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,096.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-21059 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2023-21059 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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