dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Samsung

CVE-2023-21480

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-09-03
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
Improper input validation vulnerability in CertByte prior to SMR Apr-2023 Release 1 allows local attackers to launch privileged activities.

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 confidence

Improper input validation in Samsung's CertByte component (prior to SMR Apr-2023 Release 1) allows local attackers to launch privileged activities. The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of input data, enabling potential local privilege escalation on affected Samsung mobile devices.

MitigationUpdate to Samsung SMR Apr-2023 Release 1 or later to obtain the patched CertByte version with proper input validation controls.

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:= 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. Identify your Samsung Android version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version. Alternatively, run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB or terminal emulator.
    Affected if The Android version shows 11, 12, or 13 (meaning it falls within the affected version range)
  2. Check your Samsung SMR (Samsung Maintenance Release) version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Software information > Build number, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.sem' via ADB or terminal emulator. This displays the Samsung maintenance release version.
    Affected if The SMR version is earlier than 'Apr-2023 Release 1' or the build date is before April 2023, indicating the patch is not applied
  3. Verify the CertByte component presence
    Check if the CertByte application is installed on the device. Run 'pm list packages | grep certbyte' via ADB or terminal emulator, or look for a certbyte-related app in Settings > Apps.
    Affected if The CertByte component is present and active on the device, making it a potential attack surface for the vulnerability
  4. Confirm the device is Samsung mobile
    Verify the device manufacturer is Samsung. Run 'getprop ro.product.manufacturer' via ADB or terminal emulator, or check Settings > About Phone > Manufacturer.
    Affected if The device is not a Samsung mobile product - the vulnerability specifically affects Samsung devices only

You are affected if you have a Samsung Android device running version 11, 12, or 13 with an SMR earlier than the April 2023 release and the CertByte component is present on the device.

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 to Samsung SMR Apr-2023 Release 1 or later to obtain the patched CertByte version with proper input validation controls.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

SMR Apr-2023 Release 1 (or subsequent monthly SMR releases)

  1. Open Settings on the Samsung device
  2. Navigate to Software Update
  3. Tap Check for updates or Download and install
  4. Wait for the SMR Apr-2023 Release 1 update to be found and downloaded
  5. Install the update and restart the device if prompted
  6. Verify the update was applied by going to Settings > About phone > Software information and confirming the SMR date shows April 2023 or later

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,080
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,328.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-21480 — 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-2023-21480 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