CVE-2023-21384
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 possible permissions bypass due to an unsafe PendingIntent. This could lead to local information disclosure with User 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 confidenceThis is a vulnerability in Android's Package Manager where an unsafe PendingIntent allows a permissions bypass, potentially exposing sensitive package information to unauthorized local callers. The PendingIntent likely lacks proper intent specification or flags, enabling information disclosure without requiring user interaction beyond initial execution.
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 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shellAffected if Version is below 14.0 (Android 14)
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Verify Package Manager accessibilityCheck if any third-party apps have GET_PACKAGE_SIZE or other PackageManager permissions by reviewing installed apps in Settings > Apps, or use 'dumpsys package' via ADB shell to list permission holdersAffected if Apps without proper PackageManager permissions can access package information
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Review app permission grantsRun 'dumpsys package' via ADB shell and search for unusual permission grants to installed apps, particularly READ_PACKAGE_USAGE_STATS or PACKAGE_USAGE_STATSAffected if Apps have been granted sensitive package usage permissions unexpectedly
Your device is affected if it runs Android version 13 or lower, as the unsafe PendingIntent in Package Manager exists in those versions and could allow unauthorized local access to package information.
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
The fix requires updating the PendingIntent creation in Package Manager to use explicit intents with FLAG_IMMUTABLE or FLAG_MUTABLE appropriately, and ensuring the intent specifies exact target components to prevent intent hijacking.
Android 14.0
- Check the current Android version by going to Settings > About Phone > Android version
- Ensure all important data is backed up to cloud or external storage before updating
- Check for system updates by going to Settings > System > Software Update (or Settings > About Phone > System Updates)
- Download and install the Android 14.0 (or later) system update when available for your specific device model
- Restart the device after the update completes to ensure all security patches are fully applied
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing12.0 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 $10,496.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-21384 — 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-2023-21384 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