dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2023-21071

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 dhd_prot_ioctcmplt_process of dhd_msgbuf.c, there is a possible out of bounds write due to improper input validation. 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-254028518References: 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

A memory corruption vulnerability exists in the dhd Wi-Fi driver's IOCTL completion processing function (dhd_prot_ioctcmplt_process) in dhd_msgbuf.c. The driver fails to properly validate input bounds before writing to memory, allowing an attacker with System-level privileges to trigger an out-of-bounds write and escalate to root. User interaction is not required.

MitigationApply Android security patch levels that include the fix for A-254028518, typically from the November 2022 or later security bulletin. This requires updating the Wi-Fi driver firmware and/or kernel module from the device vendor.

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. Verify Android Security Patch Level
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level and note the date listed
    Affected if The Security Patch Level is earlier than November 2022, or does not include the fix for A-254028518
  2. Confirm dhd Wi-Fi driver presence
    Check if the device uses a Broadcom/Cypress dhd Wi-Fi driver by examining /system/lib/modules or kernel module loading logs
    Affected if The device utilizes the dhd driver and the driver version is not patched
  3. Assess privilege context
    Determine if untrusted applications can escalate to System-level privileges, since the exploit requires System-level access
    Affected if The device allows apps to gain System-level privileges without proper isolation
  4. Review Wi-Fi subsystem logs
    Examine dmesg or logcat output for the dhd driver IOCTL processing messages from dhd_prot_ioctcmplt_process in dhd_msgbuf.c
    Affected if The dhd driver processes IOCTL completions without bounds validation on the input buffer

The device is affected if it runs Android with a Security Patch Level before November 2022 and uses a vulnerable dhd Wi-Fi driver that has not been patched for A-254028518.

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 Android security patch levels that include the fix for A-254028518, typically from the November 2022 or later security bulletin. This requires updating the Wi-Fi driver firmware and/or kernel module from the device vendor.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest Android security patch level (2023 release containing fix for A-254028518). Contact your device manufacturer for specific update availability and timeline.

  1. Check your device's Android security patch level in Settings > About Phone > Android security patch level
  2. Ensure your device has received the latest Android security update. Go to Settings > System > Software Update and check for updates
  3. If your device manufacturer has released an update containing the fix for Android ID A-254028518 (CVE-2023-21071), apply it
  4. For enterprise or custom deployments, ensure devices are running a kernel version that includes the fix in dhd_msgbuf.c for the Broadcom WiFi driver (dhd)
Caveat Standard Android security updates should not introduce breaking changes. However, verify compatibility with any custom or enterprise applications 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
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,360
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,176.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-21071 — 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-2023-21071 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