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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2023-32859

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-12-04
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
69/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
In meta, there is a possible classic buffer overflow due to a missing bounds check. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with System execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Patch ID: ALPS08000473; Issue ID: ALPS08000473.

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 classic buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the 'meta' component due to a missing bounds check. The flaw allows a local attacker with System execution privileges to escalate privileges further. No user interaction is required for exploitation.

MitigationApply patch ALPS08000473 to implement proper bounds checking in the affected code path, or update to the patched version of the meta component.

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:= 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
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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 Android version
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' or check Settings > About Phone > Android version
    Affected if Version is 12.0 or 13.0
  2. Locate the meta component
    Search for the meta binary or library in the system partition (typically /system/bin or /vendor/bin)
    Affected if The meta component is present and executable on the device
  3. Determine current execution privileges
    Run 'whoami' or 'id' to check the current user context
    Affected if Process runs with System-level privileges (uid 1000) rather than root or a lower-privilege user
  4. Check for available privilege escalation paths
    Review running services and their permissions using 'dumpsys' commands or security audit tools
    Affected if Processes with System privileges have access to vulnerable code paths in the meta component without additional restrictions
  5. Verify patch status
    Check for ALPS08000473 in the system update history or kernel/subsystem version strings
    Affected if The patch is not applied or the meta component version predates the fix

A device is affected if it runs Android 12.0 or 13.0, contains the meta component, and executes code with System privileges that can reach the vulnerable code path without the ALPS08000473 patch applied.

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 patch ALPS08000473 to implement proper bounds checking in the affected code path, or update to the patched version of the meta component.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Apply Android security update that includes the ALPS08000473 patch (typically included in Android security bulletins after June 2023)

  1. Check the current Android security patch level on the device (Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level)
  2. Ensure the device has the latest Android system updates installed via Settings > System > Software Update
  3. Contact the device manufacturer (OEM) or carrier to confirm they have incorporated MediaTek patch ALPS08000473
  4. If the OEM has not released a fix, consider upgrading to a device model that receives active security support
  5. For enterprise deployments, apply MDM policies to restrict device functionality until the patch is available
Caveat OEM-dependent; some older devices may not receive further updates and may require hardware replacement

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
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,560
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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-2023-32859 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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
  • 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