CVE-2023-21312
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 IntentResolver, there is a possible cross-user media read due to a confused deputy. This could lead to local information disclosure 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 confidenceIn Android's IntentResolver component, a confused deputy vulnerability allows a malicious app to read media files across user boundaries without proper permission validation. The IntentResolver fails to correctly enforce cross-user permission checks when resolving intents, enabling unauthorized access to media that should be restricted to other users.
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 Android OS versionGo to Settings > About Phone > Android version (or Settings > System > About Phone > Android version on Pixel devices). Alternatively, run `adb shell getprop ro.build.version.release`Affected if Android version is below 14.0 (any version 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, etc.)
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Verify if multiple user accounts exist on the deviceGo to Settings > System > Multiple users (or Settings > Accounts > Other users on some devices). Alternatively, run `adb shell pm list users`Affected if Multiple user accounts are configured on the device (more than one user profile exists)
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Check for unknown or untrusted sideloaded applicationsReview installed apps in Settings > Apps and look for applications from unknown sources or recently sideloaded APKs. Use `adb shell pm list packages -3` to list third-party apps not from the Play StoreAffected if Any untrusted or unknown third-party application is installed on the device
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Confirm IntentResolver is in useThis is an internal AOSP framework component. Check that the device runs standard Android (not a locked-down enterprise-only single-user device). The vulnerability affects the intent resolution system used by apps to access media providersAffected if The device runs standard Android firmware with typical app interaction capabilities (this is the default state for consumer Android devices)
A device is affected if it runs Android version 13 or below AND has multiple user profiles configured, as the IntentResolver vulnerability enables a malicious app to bypass cross-user permission checks to access media files from other user accounts.
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
Apply the AOSP security patch for CVE-2023-21312 to the Android framework. OEMs should integrate the March 2023 Android Security Bulletin patches into their device builds.
Android 14.0
- Upgrade the Android device to version 14.0 or later to receive the fix for this vulnerability
- Verify the upgrade was successful by checking Settings > About Phone > Android version
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing10.0 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 $9,504.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-21312 — 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-2023-21312 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
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