CVE-2023-38438
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 · uneditedIn vowifiservice, there is a possible missing permission check.This could lead to local information disclosure with no additional execution privileges
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 confidenceA missing permission check in vowifiservice allows a local attacker to access sensitive WiFi-related information without proper authorization. The vulnerability exists because the service fails to validate the caller's permissions before disclosing data, enabling any local application or user with basic device access to potentially obtain WiFi configuration or network details.
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= 11.0CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify Android versionCheck if the device is running Android 11.0 by going to Settings > About Phone > Android version or using 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADBAffected if The device is running Android 11.0 specifically
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Identify apps with WiFi permissionsUse 'dumpsys package' via ADB to list apps holding ACCESS_WIFI_STATE and CHANGE_WIFI_STATE permissions, or check app manifestsAffected if Apps without proper authorization or third-party apps hold these permissions
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Test vowifiservice accessibilityAttempt to query WiFi configuration or network details through vowifiservice interface using an app or ADB command like 'dumpsys vowifiservice'Affected if The service returns sensitive WiFi information without enforcing permission validation
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Check for unauthorized WiFi data accessInstall a minimal test application without WiFi permissions and attempt to access WiFi-related information via vowifiserviceAffected if The test application can obtain WiFi configuration or network details despite lacking permissions
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Audit bound applications to vowifiserviceUse 'dumpsys activity service vowifiservice' to see which applications are bound to the serviceAffected if Applications without proper WiFi permissions are bound to and can query vowifiservice
A device is affected if it runs Android 11.0 and any application can access WiFi information through vowifiservice without holding the required ACCESS_WIFI_STATE or CHANGE_WIFI_STATE permissions.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
From vendor dataImplement proper permission verification checks in the vowifiservice before returning any sensitive information. Ensure the service validates that callers have the required permissions (e.g., ACCESS_WIFI_STATE, CHANGE_WIFI_STATE) before processing requests.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-38438 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-38438 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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