dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2023-35647

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-10-11
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges 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 ProtocolEmbmsGlobalCellIdAdapter::Init() of protocolembmsadapter.cpp, there is a possible out of bounds read due to a missing bounds check. This could lead to remote information disclosure with baseband firmware compromise required. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.

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

An out-of-bounds read vulnerability exists in ProtocolEmbmsGlobalCellIdAdapter::Init() in protocolembmsadapter.cpp due to a missing bounds check. This allows an attacker to read memory beyond allocated boundaries, potentially exposing sensitive information. Exploitation requires compromise of the baseband firmware but does not require user interaction.

MitigationApply the vendor-provided baseband firmware patch when available. Since this is a baseband-level vulnerability, standard software updates may not address it; contact the device/firmware vendor for specific patch guidance.

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:all versions

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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. Confirm device has cellular baseband modem
    Check if the Android device has a cellular modem (LTE/5G) by examining /sys/class/net for cellular interfaces (e.g., rmnet, rild) or checking device info via 'getprop' for radio-related properties
    Affected if Device lacks a cellular baseband modem - the vulnerability only affects devices with cellular radio firmware
  2. Identify baseband firmware version
    Retrieve baseband version using 'getprop gsm.version.baseband' or check /proc/version for kernel/build info; consult device manufacturer documentation for baseband/modem firmware version details
    Affected if Cannot determine baseband version or baseband firmware predates the patch date (June 2023) - the flaw exists in the baseband firmware code itself
  3. Check if eMBMS feature is present
    Inspect device for eMBMS (Enhanced Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service) support - look for 'embms' in /system/etc, check 'getprop' for embms-related properties, or examine logcat for embms-related modules at boot
    Affected if eMBMS is not compiled into or loaded by the baseband - the vulnerable code path in ProtocolEmbmsGlobalCellIdAdapter::Init() is only exercised when eMBMS functionality is present

Device is affected if it has a cellular baseband modem with eMBMS support and the baseband firmware predates the June 2023 patch; Android OS version is irrelevant as this flaw resides in the baseband firmware layer, not the application processor.

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 vendor-provided baseband firmware patch when available. Since this is a baseband-level vulnerability, standard software updates may not address it; contact the device/firmware vendor for specific patch guidance.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest Android security update containing the CVE-2023-35647 patch (check Android Security Bulletin for the specific Security Patch Level)

  1. 1. Check the current Android security patch level on the device in Settings > About Phone > Android version > Security patch level
  2. 2. Identify the Android Security Bulletin that addressed CVE-2023-35647 (refer to source.android.com security bulletins)
  3. 3. Apply the latest Android system update that includes the security patch addressing this vulnerability
  4. 4. For devices with baseband firmware affected, also ensure baseband/modem firmware is updated to the latest version provided by the device manufacturer
  5. 5. Verify the security patch level has been updated after applying the fix
Caveat Minimal - security patches typically do not introduce breaking changes; however, baseband firmware updates may require device restart

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
44.0 hours of engineering $7,720
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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-2023-35647 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
  • 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