CVE-2023-21499
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 · uneditedOut-of-bounds write vulnerability in TA_Communication_mpos_encrypt_pin in mPOS TUI trustlet prior to SMR May-2023 Release 1 allows local attackers to execute arbitrary code.
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 confidenceAn out-of-bounds write vulnerability exists in the TA_Communication_mpos_encrypt_pin function within the mPOS TUI trustlet on Samsung devices running firmware versions prior to SMR May-2023 Release 1. This memory corruption flaw allows local attackers to overwrite adjacent memory regions, potentially achieving arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the trusted application.
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
- 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.
-
Confirm device manufacturer and modelCheck if the device is a Samsung Android device by reviewing the device settings under 'About phone' > 'Manufacturer' or 'Brand'Affected if Device is not manufactured by Samsung
-
Check Android versionNavigate to Settings > About phone > Android version to identify the installed Android OS versionAffected if Android version is 13.0 or earlier (vulnerability exists in Android 13.0 and prior versions)
-
Verify Samsung patch levelCheck the Security patch level under Settings > About phone > Software information. Look for the SMR (Samsung Maintenance Release) dateAffected if Security patch level is dated before May-2023 (SMR May-2023 Release 1 contains the fix)
-
Identify if mPOS TUI trustlet is presentThe mPOS TUI trustlet is a TEE (Trusted Execution Environment) component. Check for its presence via the TEE information in /vendor or /system or by reviewing the device's tee listing if accessible via debugging toolsAffected if mPOS TUI trustlet is present on the device and the firmware is unpatched
The device is affected if it is a Samsung Android device running Android version 13.0 or earlier with a Security patch level dated before May-2023, as the vulnerability exists in the mPOS TUI trustlet prior to the SMR May-2023 Release 1 patch.
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 Samsung's SMR May-2023 Release 1 or later security update which includes the patch for the mPOS TUI trustlet vulnerability. Organizations should verify device patch levels and ensure affected mobile POS devices receive the update.
SMR May-2023 Release 1 (Android 13.0)
- Navigate to Settings > Software Update on the Samsung device
- Tap 'Download and install' to check for available updates
- Select the May-2023 security update (SMR May-2023 Release 1) or later if available
- Wait for the update to download and complete installation
- Restart the device to ensure the security patch is fully applied
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 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 $5,600.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-21499 — 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-2023-21499 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