AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2023-35681

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-09-11
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 eatt_l2cap_reconfig_completed of eatt_impl.h, there is a possible out of bounds write due to an integer overflow. This could lead to remote code execution 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 · high confidence

A critical integer overflow vulnerability exists in the eatt_l2cap_reconfig_completed function within Android's Bluetooth stack (eatt_impl.h). The overflow allows an attacker to write beyond allocated buffer boundaries, leading to arbitrary code execution. Since no authentication or user interaction is required, this can be exploited remotely over Bluetooth.

MitigationApply the Android security patch (June 2023 or later) which addresses this vulnerability. For custom Android builds, audit and fix the bounds checking in the eatt_l2cap_reconfig_completed function to prevent integer overflow in size calculations.

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
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. Identify Android version
    Navigate to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB
    Affected if The displayed version is exactly 13.0 (Android 13)
  2. Verify Bluetooth is enabled
    Check Settings > Bluetooth is turned ON, or run 'settings get global bluetooth_on' via ADB
    Affected if Bluetooth is actively enabled on the device
  3. Confirm EATT feature is in use
    EATT (Enhanced Attribute Protocol) is typically used when a device connects using Bluetooth 5.0+ LE; check connected Bluetooth devices and their protocol versions via 'adb shell dumpsys bluetooth_manager'
    Affected if Bluetooth 5.0 or higher LE connections are established with EATT enabled
  4. Review Bluetooth stack logs for anomalies
    Run 'adb logcat | grep -i eatt' or 'adb logcat | grep -i l2cap' to search for error messages related to the vulnerable code path
    Affected if Unexpected errors, buffer warnings, or crashes appear in logs mentioning eatt_l2cap_reconfig_completed or buffer overflows

A device is affected if it runs Android 13.0 with Bluetooth enabled and actively using EATT/L2CAP connections, as the integer overflow in eatt_l2cap_reconfig_completed only triggers during Bluetooth operations on this specific Android version.

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 Android security patch (June 2023 or later) which addresses this vulnerability. For custom Android builds, audit and fix the bounds checking in the eatt_l2cap_reconfig_completed function to prevent integer overflow in size calculations.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android 13.0 with latest security patch level (December 2023 or later recommended)

  1. 1. Go to Settings on the Android 13.0 device
  2. 2. Navigate to System > Software Update (or Settings > About Phone > System Update)
  3. 3. Check for updates and download any available updates
  4. 4. Install the latest Android security patch update
  5. 5. Verify the update was successful by checking the Android Security Patch Level in Settings > About Phone > Android version

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing16.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
32.0 hours of engineering $5,360
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2023-35681 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