CVE-2023-21187
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 onCreate of UsbAccessoryUriActivity.java, there is a possible way to escape the Setup Wizard due to a logic error in the code. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android-13Android ID: A-246542917
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 logic error in UsbAccessoryUriActivity.java in Android 13 allows escaping the Setup Wizard, enabling local privilege escalation without user interaction or additional execution privileges.
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= 13.0CVSS 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
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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Verify Android version is 13.0Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADBAffected if The device is running Android 13.0 exactly (version = 13.0)
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Confirm USB accessory mode is enabledCheck Settings > Connected devices > USB accessories, or verify android.hardware.usb.accessory feature is present via 'pm list features | grep accessory'Affected if USB accessory mode is enabled and the device is on Android 13.0
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Check if Setup Wizard bypass is possible via USBConnect a USB accessory and attempt to access URLs or trigger activities without completing Setup Wizard. Inspect UsbAccessoryUriActivity by checking if it handles intents without proper Setup Wizard state validationAffected if USB accessory can trigger UsbAccessoryUriActivity to load external content while Setup Wizard is not completed on Android 13.0
A device is affected if it runs exactly Android 13.0 and has USB accessory mode enabled, allowing the UsbAccessoryUriActivity to escape Setup Wizard enforcement.
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.
dbcve · scopedApply the Google security patch for Android-13 that addresses this vulnerability. Ensure devices receive monthly security updates. For enterprise deployments, validate that Setup Wizard enforcement cannot be bypassed via USB accessory interfaces.
Android 14 or latest Android 13 security patch level
- Check if your Android device manufacturer has released a security update for CVE-2023-21187
- Apply the latest Android security patch update available for your device via Settings > Security > Security update
- If available, upgrade to Android 14 which contains the fix for this vulnerability
- Verify the patch was applied by checking Settings > About Phone > Android security patch level
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $7,616.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-21187 — 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-2023-21187 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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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.
- 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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