CVE-2023-21293
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 PackageManagerNative, there is a possible way to determine whether an app is installed, without query permissions, due to side channel information disclosure. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.
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 confidenceThis is an Android vulnerability in PackageManagerNative where a side channel allows determining whether an app is installed without proper query permissions. The information disclosure enables local privilege escalation without requiring additional execution privileges or user interaction.
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< 14.0CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/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 the Android OS version on the deviceGo to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run `adb shell getprop ro.build.version.release` via ADBAffected if The device is running Android 13 or earlier (versions below 14.0)
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Verify the PackageManagerNative component existsCheck if /system/lib64/libpackagemanager.so or similar PackageManagerNative libraries exist on the device using `adb shell ls -la /system/lib*/libpackagemanager*`Affected if This confirms the vulnerable component is present on the device OS
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Confirm no platform security patch has been appliedCheck the Android security patch level in Settings > About Phone > Security patch level, or run `adb shell getprop ro.build.version.security_patch`Affected if The security patch date is earlier than the July 2023 Android Security Bulletin or the device shows no patch applied
If the device runs Android version 13 or earlier without the July 2023 or later security patch, the environment is affected by this information disclosure vulnerability in PackageManagerNative.
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 · scoped14.0
This requires a platform-level fix from Google in Android system updates. Users should apply available Android security patches. Organizations may need to issue device firmware updates from OEMs or restrict sensitive app installations on unpatched devices.
Android 14.0
- Check current Android version on the device (Settings > About Phone > Android version)
- If the version is below 14.0, initiate a system update to Android 14.0 or later
- Verify the update was successful by checking the Android version again after the update completes
- For enterprise or managed devices, ensure the device management policy allows system updates
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation40.0 h
- Testing16.0 h
- Review / QA8.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $20,224.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-21293 — 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-2023-21293 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data