AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2023-40101

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-10-30
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 14.0 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 collapse of canonicalize_md.c, there is a possible out of bounds read due to a missing bounds check. This could lead to local information disclosure 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

An out-of-bounds read vulnerability exists in the collapse function of canonicalize_md.c due to a missing bounds check. This allows reading memory beyond allocated buffer boundaries, leading to local information disclosure without requiring elevated privileges or user interaction.

MitigationAdd proper bounds validation in the collapse function to ensure all buffer accesses are checked against array/size limits before reading.

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:< 14.0

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
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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check Android version
    Run 'adb shell getprop ro.build.version.release' or check Settings > About Phone > Android version
    Affected if Version is 13.x or lower (any version below 14.0)
  2. Identify the vulnerable component
    Search for canonicalize_md.c in the Android system image or within apps that process markdown content (e.g., docs readers, note-taking apps, markdown renderers)
    Affected if The canonicalize_md.c component with the collapse function is present and processes untrusted markdown input
  3. Verify markdown processing is enabled
    Check if any installed application or system service uses markdown canonicalization functionality - look for apps that parse or render .md files
    Affected if Markdown processing features are actively used on the device
  4. Check for information disclosure indicators
    Monitor app logs or system logs for unusual memory read patterns or buffer access warnings when processing markdown files
    Affected if Unusual read patterns or memory access errors occur during markdown processing

A device is affected if it runs Android version 13.x or lower and has applications or system components that process markdown content using the vulnerable canonicalize_md.c collapse function.

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 14.0 or later
Fixed in 14.0
Interim mitigation

Add proper bounds validation in the collapse function to ensure all buffer accesses are checked against array/size limits before reading.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android 14.0

  1. Upgrade the Android device or system to Android 14.0 or later to resolve the out-of-bounds read vulnerability in canonicalize_md.c
  2. Verify the Android version after upgrade by checking Settings > About Phone > Android version
Caveat Upgrading Android versions may introduce app compatibility issues; ensure critical applications are compatible with Android 14.0 before deployment

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,664.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-40101 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-40101 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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