dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Samsung

CVE-2023-21497

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-05-04
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
Use of externally-controlled format string vulnerability in mPOS TUI trustlet prior to SMR May-2023 Release 1 allows local attackers to access the memory address.

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

A format string vulnerability in the mPOS TUI trustlet allows local attackers to read memory addresses. This occurs when user-controlled input is used directly in format string functions (e.g., printf, sprintf) without proper sanitization, enabling format specifiers to leak stack and heap memory contents.

MitigationApply the SMR May-2023 Release 1 patch to the mPOS TUI trustlet to remediate the format string vulnerability.

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:= 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 version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB
    Affected if The version is exactly 13.0 (Android 13)
  2. Identify mPOS TUI trustlet presence
    Check for the existence of the mPOS TUI trustlet binary or library on the device. This is typically found in the trusted execution environment. On Samsung devices, inspect /vendor/firmware/ or /system/vendor/firmware/ for trustlet files, or use 'ls -la /vendor/firmware/*tui*' via ADB if root access is available
    Affected if The mPOS TUI trustlet binary or library exists on the device
  3. Verify TUI trustlet is enabled
    Check if the TUI (Trusted User Interface) trustlet is actively loaded or enabled. This may require checking trustzone status or kernel logs via 'dmesg | grep -i tui' or 'logcat | grep -i trustlet' via ADB
    Affected if The TUI trustlet is loaded and active on the device
  4. Confirm format string exposure potential
    Since this is a format string vulnerability where user input flows directly to printf/sprintf without sanitization, verify if any TUI-related applications or services handle user-provided strings. This is typically not directly observable without the vulnerable binary, but checking for TUI-related processes via 'ps -A | grep -i tui' can confirm the attack surface exists
    Affected if TUI-related processes or services that handle user input are running on the device

A device is affected if it runs Android version 13.0 and has the mPOS TUI trustlet binary present and enabled, as the format string vulnerability allows local attackers to read memory addresses through unsanitized user input in TUI functions.

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

Apply the SMR May-2023 Release 1 patch to the mPOS TUI trustlet to remediate the format string vulnerability.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

SMR May-2023 Release 1 or later (Android 13.0 with May-2023 security patch)

  1. Check the current Android/Samsung security patch level on the device in Settings > About Phone > Software Information > Security patch level
  2. Navigate to Settings > Software Update and download and install any available updates
  3. Verify the device has updated to SMR May-2023 Release 1 or later by checking the Security patch level again
  4. For enterprise/managed devices, use MDM or Samsung Knox to push the May-2023 security update to affected devices
Caveat Samsung monthly security updates typically have no breaking changes; this is a routine security patch

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
26.0 hours of engineering $4,400
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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-2023-21497 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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