CVE-2023-21321
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 Package Manager, there is a possible cross-user settings disclosure due to a missing permission check. 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 · high confidenceA missing permission check in Android's Package Manager allows cross-user settings disclosure, enabling a local attacker to access settings intended for other users without elevated 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 Android versionGo to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run `adb shell getprop ro.build.version.release`Affected if Version is below 14.0 (Android 14)
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Check security patch levelGo to Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level, or run `adb shell getprop ro.build.version.security_patch`Affected if Patch level is earlier than 2023-04-05 (the April 2023 Android security bulletin)
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Verify if multiple user accounts existGo to Settings > Users, or run `adb shell pm list users`. The vulnerability allows disclosure of settings across user boundaries.Affected if Multiple user profiles are configured on the device (the flaw enables a local app to access another user's settings)
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Check for user-installed apps with broad permissionsReview installed apps in Settings > Apps. A local attacker with any installed app could exploit this vulnerability.Affected if Any third-party apps are installed (an attacker would need to trick a user into installing a malicious app)
Device is affected if running Android version < 14.0 with a security patch level before April 2023 and has multiple user accounts configured.
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 Android security patch for the relevant bulletin (April 2023) which adds proper permission checks to enforce user isolation in Package Manager.
Android 14.0
- Check your current Android version by going to Settings > About Phone > Android version
- Ensure your device is supported for Android 14.0 upgrade by checking your device manufacturer's compatibility list
- Back up important data before initiating the update
- Navigate to Settings > System > System Update (or Settings > Software Update)
- Check for updates and download Android 14.0 when available
- Install the update and restart your device after completion
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,224.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-21321 — 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-2023-21321 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