CVE-2023-21440
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 · uneditedImproper access control vulnerability in WindowManagerService prior to SMR Feb-2023 Release 1 allows attackers to take a screen capture.
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 confidenceThis is an improper access control vulnerability in Samsung's WindowManagerService component that existed prior to the February 2023 security patch. The vulnerability allows unauthorized attackers to capture screen content without proper permission checks, likely due to missing or insufficient validation in the screen capture code path within the WindowManagerService.
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= 13.0CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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.
-
Confirm device is Samsung AndroidGo to Settings > About Phone > Software info and verify the manufacturer is Samsung and the Android version is 13.0Affected if Device is Samsung running Android 13.0 specifically and the security patch level is earlier than February 2023
-
Check Security Patch LevelNavigate to Settings > About Phone > Software info > Security patch level and note the date shownAffected if The security patch level predates the February 2023 release (SMR Feb-2023 Release 1)
-
Verify WindowManagerService screen capture permission stateThis requires static analysis of the WindowManagerService component or checking system logs for unauthorized screen capture attempts; the vulnerability exists if the February 2023 update has not been appliedAffected if The device is running unpatched Samsung Android 13.0 with a pre-February-2023 security patch level
A Samsung device is affected if it runs Android version 13.0 and has a Security Patch Level earlier than the February 2023 (SMR Feb-2023 Release 1) update.
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 · scopedApply the SMR Feb-2023 Release 1 security update to affected Samsung devices, which contains the fix for this improper access control issue in WindowManagerService.
SMR Feb-2023 Release 1 (February 2023 Samsung Security Patch)
- 1. Go to Settings on your Samsung Android device
- 2. Navigate to Software Update
- 3. Tap Download and Install to check for available updates
- 4. Install the February 2023 security patch (SMR Feb-2023 Release 1) or later
- 5. Restart the device after the update is complete
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,272.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-21440 — 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-2023-21440 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
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.
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