AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2023-21374

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-10-30
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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 System UI, there is a possible factory reset protection bypass due to a logic error in the code. 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 confidence

This is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in Android's System UI that allows bypassing factory reset protection (FRP) due to a logic error in the code. FRP is designed to prevent unauthorized device resets, and bypassing it enables an attacker to gain elevated access without user interaction.

MitigationApply the Android security patch that addresses CVE-2023-21374, typically available in the July 2023 Android Security Bulletin or later. Organizations should ensure mobile device management policies account for this bypass vector.

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
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 checks

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

  1. Confirm Android version
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' in ADB shell or check Settings > About Phone > Android version
    Affected if The device is running Android 14.0 exactly (not a later version with the fix)
  2. Check security patch level
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' in ADB shell or check Settings > About Phone > Security patch level
    Affected if The patch level is earlier than July 2023 (the month the fix was released)
  3. Verify FRP status
    Check if Factory Reset Protection is enabled on the device by examining the device's security settings or checking for FRP-related flags in system properties via 'getprop | grep frp'
    Affected if FRP is configured and active, making the bypass meaningful (the vulnerability allows circumventing this protection)

The device is affected if it runs Android 14.0 with a security patch level before the July 2023 bulletin and has FRP protection enabled.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the Android security patch that addresses CVE-2023-21374, typically available in the July 2023 Android Security Bulletin or later. Organizations should ensure mobile device management policies account for this bypass vector.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android 14 with March 2024 Security Patch Level (SPL) or later

  1. Check your current Android security patch level in Settings > About Phone > Android version > Security patch level
  2. Ensure your device is running Android 14 with the March 2024 security update or later
  3. Go to Settings > System > Software update > Check for updates
  4. Download and install any available system updates
  5. After updating, verify the security patch level shows March 2024 or later in Settings > About Phone > Android version > Security patch level
Caveat Users should ensure their device manufacturer provides monthly security updates; some older devices may stop receiving updates

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,100
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2023-21374 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