dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2023-21260

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-07-13
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges

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 notification access permission dialog box, malicious application can embedded a very long service label that overflow the original user prompt and possibly contains mis-leading information to be appeared as a system message for user confirmation.

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

This is a UI spoofing vulnerability in Android's notification access permission dialog. A malicious application can set an excessively long service label that overflows the dialog bounds, allowing misleading text to appear as if it were a system message, potentially tricking users into granting notification access permissions to the malicious app.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied Android security patch for CVE-2023-21260, which should include UI changes to properly truncate service labels and add visual differentiation between system messages and app-provided content in permission dialogs.

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:= 10.0= 11.0= 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
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/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 checks

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

  1. Check Android version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version. Note the version number displayed (e.g., 10, 11, 12.1, 13).
    Affected if The Android version is 10, 11, 12.1, or 13.
  2. Check Security Patch Level
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Security patch level. Note the date displayed (format is typically YYYY-MM-DD).
    Affected if The Security Patch Level is earlier than June 2023, or the field is empty/unavailable.
  3. Verify patch installation via build number
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Build number. Compare the build number against Google's official monthly security bulletin for June 2023 for your device model.
    Affected if The build number does not include the June 2023 security patch, or the device has not received updates since before June 2023.
  4. Confirm notification listener access dialog behavior
    On the device, attempt to grant notification access to any app. Observe the permission dialog - check if service labels overflow the dialog bounds or if system text and app-provided text appear visually indistinguishable.
    Affected if The dialog displays app service labels without proper truncation or visual separation from system messages, making them appear as official system content.

The device is affected if it runs Android 10, 11, 12.1, or 13 and has not received the June 2023 security patch update.

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 vendor-supplied Android security patch for CVE-2023-21260, which should include UI changes to properly truncate service labels and add visual differentiation between system messages and app-provided content in permission dialogs.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android 14 or Android security patch level 2023-07-01 or later

  1. 1. Go to Settings on your Android device
  2. 2. Navigate to System > Security & privacy > Security update (or Settings > About Phone > Android version > Android security update on some devices)
  3. 3. Check the current Android security patch level
  4. 4. If the patch level is earlier than July 2023, check for available updates
  5. 5. Download and install the latest Android security update or system update
  6. 6. After updating, verify the security patch level shows July 2023 or later in Settings > About Phone > Android version
Caveat Upgrading to a new Android major version (e.g., to Android 14) may introduce UI changes or remove compatibility with older apps; verify app compatibility before proceeding

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
19.0 hours of engineering $3,280
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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-2023-21260 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data