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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2023-21316

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-10-30
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 14.0 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click

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 Content, 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 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 confidence

This is an Android OS vulnerability in the Content component (likely ContentResolver/Content Provider system). The flaw allows a malicious local application to determine whether other apps are installed on the device without requiring any query permissions, exploiting a side channel to disclose this information. The attack requires no privileges, no user interaction, and can be performed automatically by any local app.

MitigationThis vulnerability requires a patch in the Android framework (AOSP). Users should apply Android system updates as they become available. Organizations may consider mobile device management (MDM) policies restricting installation of untrusted applications to reduce the attack surface.

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:< 14.0

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
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 checks

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

  1. Check Android OS version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shell
    Affected if The installed Android version is less than 14.0 (Android 14)
  2. Verify Android security patch level
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Security patch level, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADB shell
    Affected if The security patch level is earlier than the date Google released the fix for CVE-2023-21316 (typically April 2023 or later, verify against Google's Android Security Bulletin)
  3. Confirm Content component is accessible without special permissions
    As a developer verification, attempt to query package information via ContentResolver from a test app that has no special permissions, specifically checking if PackageManager can enumerate installed packages through content provider queries
    Affected if The test app can enumerate other installed packages without READ_PACKAGE_USERS_ASSOCIATION or query permissions, indicating the vulnerability is present

The device is affected if it runs Android versions below 14.0 AND has a security patch level predating the fix for CVE-2023-21316, allowing any local app to enumerate installed packages without permissions.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 14.0 or later
Fixed in 14.0
Interim mitigation

This vulnerability requires a patch in the Android framework (AOSP). Users should apply Android system updates as they become available. Organizations may consider mobile device management (MDM) policies restricting installation of untrusted applications to reduce the attack surface.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android 14.0

  1. Check the current Android version on the device by navigating to Settings > About Phone > Android version
  2. Verify the device model is eligible for Android 14.0 update by checking the device manufacturer's update support page
  3. Check for available system updates by going to Settings > System > Software Update
  4. If Android 14.0 update is available, download and install it following the on-screen prompts
  5. After update completion, verify the Android version now shows 14.0 or higher
Caveat Android major version upgrades may introduce app compatibility issues; test critical applications after upgrading

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing24.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
52.0 hours of engineering $8,720
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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-2023-21316 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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