CVE-2023-21190
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 btm_acl_encrypt_change of btm_acl.cc, there is a possible way for a remote device to turn off encryption without resulting in a terminated connection due to an unusual root cause. This could lead to local information disclosure with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android-13Android ID: A-251436534
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 confidenceThis is a Bluetooth ACL encryption vulnerability in Android's btm_acl.cc where a remote device can disable encryption without triggering a connection termination. The unusual root cause allows encryption to be turned off silently, leading to potential local information disclosure. User interaction is required for exploitation.
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
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check Android versionGo to Settings > About Phone > Android version or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shellAffected if Version is exactly 13.0 (not 13.0.1 or higher)
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Verify Bluetooth is enabledCheck if Bluetooth is turned on in Settings or run 'settings get global bluetooth_on'Affected if Bluetooth is actively enabled and used with remote devices
If the device runs Android 13.0 exactly and uses Bluetooth, the environment is potentially affected by this ACL encryption bypass vulnerability in the btm_acl.cc component.
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 Android security patch for CVE-2023-21190 (Android-13 level) which addresses the encryption handling logic in the Bluetooth stack to ensure connections are properly terminated when encryption is improperly disabled.
Latest Android 13 security patch level (or upgrade to Android 14 if available)
- 1. Ensure your device is running the latest Android 13 security update by checking Settings > System > Security update > Security patch level
- 2. Go to Settings > System > System update to check for and install any available updates
- 3. If your device manufacturer has released a specific patch for this vulnerability, install that update
- 4. Verify the security patch level reflects a date after the CVE was addressed in the Android Security Bulletin
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA6.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $11,136.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-21190 — 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-2023-21190 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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- 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