CVE-2023-21372
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 libdexfile, there is a possible out of bounds read due to a missing bounds check. 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 · high confidenceA missing bounds check in libdexfile (Android's DEX file parser) allows an out of bounds read vulnerability. This could enable local privilege escalation by reading beyond allocated buffer boundaries without requiring user interaction or additional execution 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
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shellAffected if Version is below 14.0 (Android 14)
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Check Android security patch levelGo to Settings > About Phone > Security patch level, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADB shellAffected if Patch level is earlier than 2023-04-05 (April 2023 update)
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Verify libdexfile is presentRun 'ls -la /system/lib64/libdexfile.so' or 'ls -la /system/lib/libdexfile.so' via ADB shell to confirm the library existsAffected if The library exists (which it does on all Android devices; this confirms the component is present)
A device is affected if it runs Android versions below 14.0 AND has not received the April 2023 or later security patch that adds the bounds check fix to libdexfile.
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 latest Android security patch (April 2023 or later) which includes the bounds check fix in libdexfile. Ensure devices receive regular system updates.
Android 14.0 (or security patch level 2023-04-01 or later)
- 1. Check current Android version by going to Settings > About Phone > Version
- 2. Ensure device is eligible for Android 14.0 update by checking manufacturer support
- 3. Connect device to Wi-Fi and ensure battery is charged above 50%
- 4. Go to Settings > System > Software Update > Check for Updates
- 5. Download and install the Android 14.0 (or March 2023 / April 2023 security patch level) update when available
- 6. Restart device after update completes
- 7. Verify update was applied by checking Settings > About Phone > Version - should show Android 14.0 or security patch level 2023-04-01 or later
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-2023-21372 — 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-2023-21372 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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