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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2023-21098

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-04-19
Patch available
A vendor patch is available. No clean upgrade release — apply the published patch.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click Patch available

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 multiple functions of AccountManagerService.java, there is a possible loading of arbitrary code into the System Settings app due to a confused deputy. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android-11 Android-12 Android-12L Android-13Android ID: A-260567867

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

A detailed technical summary for this CVE is being prepared.

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:= 11.0= 12.0= 12.1= 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

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
Patch available Apply the vendor patch
Vendor patch source.android.com →
Recommended fix High confidence

Android 11.0, 12.0, 12L, and 13.0 with April 2023 security patch level or later (Android-13 is patched in the 2023-04-01 security update)

  1. 1. Identify all Android devices running versions 11.0, 12.0, 12.1, or 13.0 that need remediation.
  2. 2. Navigate to Settings > Security > Security update on each affected device to check the current security patch level.
  3. 3. Apply the April 2023 Android Security Bulletin update (or later) to each affected device. This update contains the fix for A-260567867 in AccountManagerService.java.
  4. 4. After updating, verify the security patch level is dated April 2023 or later by checking Settings > Security > Security update.
  5. 5. Confirm the update was successfully applied and the device is now running a patched version of Android.
Caveat Standard Android monthly security update; should not introduce breaking changes to applications, but verify critical apps after update

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

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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-2023-21098 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
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