AndroidOperating system · Samsung

CVE-2023-42527

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-11-07
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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
Improper input validation vulnerability in ProcessWriteFile of libsec-ril prior to SMR Nov-2023 Release 1 allows local attackers to expose sensitive information.

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

Improper input validation in the ProcessWriteFile function of Samsung's libsec-ril library (prior to SMR Nov-2023 Release 1) allows local attackers to bypass validation checks and access sensitive information stored on the device.

MitigationApply the Samsung SMR Nov-2023 Release 1 security update to affected devices to patch the vulnerable libsec-ril library.

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= 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
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 OS version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shell
    Affected if The device is running Android 11.0, 12.0, or 13.0 specifically (these are the exact affected versions listed)
  2. Locate the libsec-ril library
    Check for the presence of libsec-ril.so in /vendor/lib/ or /system/lib/ directories via ADB: 'find / -name libsec-ril.so 2>/dev/null'
    Affected if The library exists on the device (vulnerability is in this component)
  3. Check libsec-ril library version
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.securing' or inspect the library file metadata via ADB shell, or check Samsung SMR patch level in Settings > About Phone > Software information > Security patch level
    Affected if The security patch level is earlier than November 2023, indicating the vulnerable library version is still in use
  4. Verify security patch level
    Check Security patch level in Settings > About Phone > Software information, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADB
    Affected if The Security patch level shows a date BEFORE November 2023 (the fixed release)

The device is affected if it runs Android 11.0, 12.0, or 13.0 AND has a security patch level earlier than November 2023, indicating the unpatched libsec-ril library is still present.

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 Samsung SMR Nov-2023 Release 1 security update to affected devices to patch the vulnerable libsec-ril library.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

SMR Nov-2023 Release 1

  1. Check your current Samsung Android security patch level in Settings > About Phone > Software Information
  2. Ensure your device receives and install the SMR (Samsung Mobile Security) Nov-2023 Release 1 update or later
  3. If automatic updates are enabled, wait for the OTA (Over-The-Air) update to become available for your device model
  4. Alternatively, manually check for updates via Settings > Software Update > Download and Install

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
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,760
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-42527 — 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-2023-42527 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