dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Samsung

CVE-2023-21430

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-02-09
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
An out-of-bound read vulnerability in mapToBuffer function in libSDKRecognitionText.spensdk.samsung.so library prior to SMR JAN-2023 Release 1 allows attacker to cause memory access fault.

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

An out-of-bounds read vulnerability in the mapToBuffer function of Samsung's S Pen text recognition library (libSDKRecognitionText.spensdk.samsung.so) allows an attacker to access memory outside intended buffer boundaries, potentially causing a memory access fault and possibly leading to information disclosure or denial of service.

MitigationUpdate affected Samsung devices to SMR JAN-2023 Release 1 or later to patch the vulnerability in the libSDKRecognitionText library.

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:= 10.0= 11.0= 12.0= 13.0

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. Check Android OS version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shell
    Affected if The version shows 10.0, 11.0, 12.0, or 13.0 exactly (these are the affected versions)
  2. Verify S Pen library is present
    Search for the vulnerable library file 'libSDKRecognitionText.spensdk.samsung.so' in the system directory, typically found under /system/lib/ or /vendor/lib/ using 'find /system -name libSDKRecognitionText.spensdk.samsung.so' via ADB shell
    Affected if The library file exists on the device, indicating the S Pen text recognition component is installed
  3. Confirm S Pen feature is enabled
    Check if S Pen functionality is active by examining device settings under Settings > S Pen > Air actions, or verify the S Pen daemon process is running using 'ps -A | grep -i spen' via ADB shell
    Affected if S Pen features are enabled or the S Pen related processes are running, making the vulnerable code path accessible
  4. Check Samsung security patch level
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Software information > Security patch level, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADB shell
    Affected if The security patch level is earlier than JAN-2023 Release 1, meaning the vulnerability has not been patched
  5. Identify the library file location and check permissions
    Run 'ls -la /system/lib/libSDKRecognitionText.spensdk.samsung.so' or similar path to verify the library exists and its permissions via ADB shell
    Affected if The library file exists and is readable, confirming the vulnerable component is present on the device

A user is affected if their device runs Android 10.0, 11.0, 12.0, or 13.0, has the S Pen library present, and has a security patch level earlier than the JAN-2023 Release 1 patch.

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

Update affected Samsung devices to SMR JAN-2023 Release 1 or later to patch the vulnerability in the libSDKRecognitionText library.

Recommended fix High confidence

SMR JAN-2023 Release 1 (or later security update)

  1. Check current Android security patch level on the Samsung device in Settings > About Phone > Software Information > Security patch level
  2. Go to Settings > Security > Software Update (or Settings > Software Update) on the Samsung device
  3. Tap 'Download and install' or 'Check for updates' to download the latest Samsung firmware
  4. Install the SMR (Samsung Monthly Release) January 2023 security update or later which contains the fix for CVE-2023-21430
  5. Verify the device now shows Security patch level: January 2023 or later after successful installation

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,600.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-21430 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2023-21430 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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