dbcve.org
BoomerangApplication · Nationaledtech

CVE-2023-36621

CRITICAL · 9.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-11-03
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 13.83 or later.
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
An issue was discovered in the Boomerang Parental Control application through 13.83 for Android. The child can use Safe Mode to remove all restrictions temporarily or uninstall the application without the parents noticing.

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

The Boomerang Parental Control Android app through version 13.83 contains a vulnerability in its Safe Mode handling that allows children to temporarily remove all parental restrictions or uninstall the application entirely without parental notification. The app fails to properly protect its restrictions or detect/uninstall attempts when Android is booted into Safe Mode, allowing children to bypass all parental controls.

MitigationThe fix requires implementing proper protection mechanisms to prevent restriction removal or app uninstallation during Safe Mode, such as detecting Safe Mode boot and blocking disabling actions, adding tamper detection, or implementing device admin APIs to prevent unauthorized uninstallation.

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
BoomerangApplication
Affected:< 13.83

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
None
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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 Boomerang Parental Control is installed
    Open Android Settings > Apps and search for 'Boomerang' or 'Nationaledtech Boomerang', or use ADB command: pm list packages | grep boomerang
    Affected if The app is not found on the device - the CVE does not apply
  2. Identify the installed app version
    In Android Settings > Apps > Boomerang > App info, view the Version or use ADB: dumpsys package com.nationaledtech.boomerang | grep versionName
    Affected if The version is 13.83 or lower, meaning the app is in the affected version range
  3. Check if Safe Mode protection is enabled in app settings
    Open Boomerang app > Settings or Parental Controls area, look for options labeled 'Safe Mode protection', 'Safe Mode detection', or 'Boot mode protection'
    Affected if The app lacks any Safe Mode protection toggle or the option is disabled/unavailable (version-dependent)
  4. Verify Device Admin status for uninstall protection
    Go to Android Settings > Security > Device admin apps, or Settings > Apps > Boomerang > Activate this device admin app, check if Boomerang is enabled as a Device Admin
    Affected if Device Admin is not enabled for Boomerang, indicating the protective measure is not active

The user is affected if Boomerang Parental Control is installed with version 13.83 or lower AND lacks Safe Mode protection mechanisms or Device Admin configuration.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 13.83 or later
Fixed in 13.83
Interim mitigation

The fix requires implementing proper protection mechanisms to prevent restriction removal or app uninstallation during Safe Mode, such as detecting Safe Mode boot and blocking disabling actions, adding tamper detection, or implementing device admin APIs to prevent unauthorized uninstallation.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Version 13.83 or later

  1. Open Google Play Store on the Android device
  2. Search for 'Boomerang Parental Control'
  3. Update the application to version 13.83 or later
  4. Verify the update was successful by checking the app version in Settings > Apps > Boomerang

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

Fix this in Boomerang Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation40.0 h
  • Testing24.0 h
  • Review / QA12.0 h
84.0 hours of engineering $14,560
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $23,296.

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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-2023-36621 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