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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2023-21063

MEDIUM · 6.7 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 →
69/100
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 ParseWithAuthType of simdata.cpp, there is a possible out of bounds read due to an incorrect bounds check. 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-243129862References: 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 confidence

An out-of-bounds read vulnerability exists in the ParseWithAuthType function in simdata.cpp within the Android kernel's SIM data parsing logic. The issue stems from an incorrect bounds check, allowing a local attacker with System-level privileges to potentially read adjacent memory beyond allocated buffers and escalate privileges further.

MitigationApply the Android security update that patches the bounds check logic in the SIM data parser (simdata.cpp). Since this is a kernel-level vulnerability, patching requires updating the Android system image with the vendor-supplied security patch.

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
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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check Android version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via adb shell
    Affected if The version is unpatched (all versions per vendor advisory)
  2. Check kernel version
    Run 'uname -r' or 'cat /proc/version' via adb shell to identify the running kernel version
    Affected if The kernel version predates the security patch date for this CVE
  3. Verify SIM data parsing component exists
    Check for the presence of simdata.cpp in the kernel source or loaded kernel modules related to SIM/RIL (Radio Interface Layer) via 'ls -la /system/lib/modules/' or reviewing kernel config
    Affected if The simdata.cpp component with ParseWithAuthType function is present and compiled into the kernel
  4. Check security patch level
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via adb shell to see the installed security patch date
    Affected if The security patch level is earlier than the October 2023 Android security bulletin (or date specified by vendor)

A device is affected if it runs any unpatched Android version with the vulnerable simdata.cpp kernel component present, and the security patch level predates the vendor 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 update that patches the bounds check logic in the SIM data parser (simdata.cpp). Since this is a kernel-level vulnerability, patching requires updating the Android system image with the vendor-supplied security patch.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

November 2023 Android Security Update (or later monthly security patch)

  1. Check your current Android security patch level in Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level
  2. If the patch level is earlier than November 2023, apply the latest available system update from your device manufacturer
  3. For Pixel devices, apply the November 2023 security update or later via Settings > System > System Update
  4. Ensure the update includes the fix for Android ID A-243129862
Caveat Security updates typically have minimal breaking changes; verify app compatibility after updating

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
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
17.0 hours of engineering $2,860
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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-2023-21063 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