CVE-2023-21326
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 Service, 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 · high confidenceThis is a side-channel information disclosure vulnerability in Android's Package Manager Service that allows a malicious application to determine whether a specific app is installed on the device without requiring query permissions. The vulnerability leaks information about the user's installed applications through a side channel, enabling local information disclosure without any user interaction or additional privileges.
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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Verify Android versionCheck the Android OS version on the device. On the device: Settings > About Phone > Android version. Or via ADB: `adb shell getprop ro.build.version.release`Affected if Android version is below 14.0 (Android 14)
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Confirm SDK versionCheck the Android SDK version via ADB: `adb shell getprop ro.build.version.sdk`Affected if SDK version is below 34 (SDK 34 corresponds to Android 14)
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Check security patch levelCheck the security patch date via ADB: `adb shell getprop ro.build.version.security_patch` or in Settings > About Phone > Security Patch LevelAffected if Security patch level is earlier than the March 2023 Android Security Bulletin (or not dated)
The device is affected by this vulnerability if it runs Android versions below 14.0 (or SDK below 34), as the side-channel flaw in Package Manager Service allowing app installation detection without permissions is present in those versions.
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 Android security updates from the device vendor to obtain the patch that fixes this side channel in the Package Manager Service. Organizations should ensure their Android device fleet receives timely security patches.
Android 14.0
- Upgrade the Android device to Android 14.0 or later to receive the security patch for this vulnerability
- Android 14.0 contains the fix for the Package Manager Service side channel information disclosure in CVE-2023-21326
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing3.0 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 $2,864.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-21326 — 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-2023-21326 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data