CVE-2023-21397
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 Setup Wizard, there is a possible way to save a WiFi network due to an insecure default value. 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 · moderate confidenceThis Android vulnerability in the Setup Wizard involves an insecure default value that allows saving a WiFi network, leading to local privilege escalation without requiring additional execution privileges or user interaction. The flaw enables a malicious or compromised application to potentially elevate its privileges through the Setup Wizard component's improper default configuration.
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 ADBAffected if The installed Android version is 13.x or lower (below 14.0)
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Confirm Setup Wizard presenceCheck if the Setup Wizard app package exists: run 'pm list packages | grep setup' via ADB, or verify the device has gone through initial setupAffected if The device has the Setup Wizard component (standard on all Android devices)
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Verify security patch levelGo to Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADBAffected if The security patch level is earlier than the fix date for CVE-2023-21397 (the vulnerability exists in unpatched versions)
A device is affected if it runs Android versions below 14.0 and has not received the corresponding security patch that addresses the insecure default value in Setup Wizard.
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 level (SPL) from the device OEM, which should include the fix for this insecure default value in Setup Wizard. Organizations should ensure mobile device management (MDM) policies restrict network configuration access until patches are applied.
Android 14.0 (API level 34)
- Verify your device model is supported for Android 14.0 (API level 34) upgrade by checking the device manufacturer's update compatibility list
- Back up all important data from the device before performing the system update
- Navigate to Settings > System > Software Update (or Settings > About Phone > System Update on some devices)
- Check for available updates and download the Android 14.0 update if available
- Install the Android 14.0 system update following the on-screen prompts
- After update completion, verify the device is running Android 14.0 by checking Settings > About Phone > Android version
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation8.0 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 $4,480.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-21397 — 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-2023-21397 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
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