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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 4 Oct 2023.
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2023-35674

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-09-11
Patch available
A vendor patch is available. No clean upgrade release — apply the published patch.
See remediation →
96/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild Zero-click Patch available

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 onCreate of WindowState.java, there is a possible way to launch a background activity due to a logic error in the code. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. 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

This is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in Android's WindowManager (WindowState.java). The bug is a logic error in the onCreate method that allows an attacker to launch background activities without proper authorization. Since background activities normally have restrictions to prevent misuse, this logic error bypasses those security controls, allowing a malicious app to elevate privileges locally.

MitigationApply the official Android security patch for CVE-2023-35674 (part of the August 2023 Android Security Bulletin). Device manufacturers and ROM maintainers must integrate Google's patch into their codebase.

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= 12.1= 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 or view /system/build.prop and look for the ro.build.version.release property
    Affected if The Android version is 11.0, 12.0, 12.1, or 13.0 specifically (not newer versions that contain the fix)
  2. Check Android Security Patch Level
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version or view /system/build.prop and look for ro.build.version.security_patch
    Affected if The Security Patch Level is earlier than the June 2023 or July 2023 Android security update (the specific patch that fixed this vulnerability)
  3. Verify if framework-res.apk contains the fix
    On rooted devices, inspect the framework-res.apk in /system/framework/ or check the WindowState.java class in the AOSP framework binary for the corrected onCreate logic
    Affected if The framework code still contains the vulnerable logic error that allows background activity launch without proper checks

A device is affected if it runs Android 11.0, 12.0, 12.1, or 13.0 AND has a Security Patch Level older than the June/July 2023 Android security update that addresses this vulnerability.

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
Patch available Apply the vendor patch
Vendor patch android.googlesource.com →
Interim mitigation

Apply the official Android security patch for CVE-2023-35674 (part of the August 2023 Android Security Bulletin). Device manufacturers and ROM maintainers must integrate Google's patch into their codebase.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android 14 (stable) or Android 11/12/12L/13 with October 2023 security patch level (2023-10-01)

  1. 1. Check current Android version by navigating to Settings > About Phone > Version Number
  2. 2. If running Android 13 or below, apply the October 2023 security update by going to Settings > System > Security Update and tapping 'Check for updates'
  3. 3. Alternatively, upgrade to Android 14 (the stable release that contains the fix for this vulnerability)
  4. 4. Verify the patch level is 2023-10-01 or later by checking Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level
Caveat Android 14 introduces behavioral changes and may have app compatibility considerations; review app compatibility before upgrading

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

Fix this in Android Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.

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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-2023-35674 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