dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Samsung

CVE-2023-42531

HIGH · 7.1 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 →
73/100
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 access control vulnerability in SmsController prior to SMR Nov-2023 Release1 allows local attackers to bypass restrictions on starting activities from the background.

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

Improper access control vulnerability in Samsung's SmsController component allows local attackers to bypass Android's background activity start restrictions. A malicious local application can launch activities that should normally be blocked when invoked from a background state, potentially leading to unauthorized UI interaction or privilege escalation within the Samsung device ecosystem.

MitigationApply the Samsung SMR Nov-2023 Release1 or later firmware update to vulnerable devices. Organizations should inventory affected Samsung devices and verify patch deployment status through mobile device management (MDM) platforms.

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
None
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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. Identify device manufacturer
    Check if the device is Samsung by running 'getprop ro.product.brand' or inspecting the device info in Settings > About Phone
    Affected if The device is not a Samsung device (this vulnerability only affects Samsung Android devices)
  2. Check Android version
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' or check Settings > Android Version
    Affected if The Android version is exactly 11.0, 12.0, or 13.0 (these are the specific affected versions)
  3. Verify SmsController component exists
    Run 'pm list packages | grep -i sms' to list SMS-related packages, then check for the SmsController component using 'dumpsys package <package_name>' or by searching for packages containing 'SmsController' in the name
    Affected if The SmsController component is present on the device (the vulnerability exists in this Samsung-specific component)
  4. Check for suspicious apps with SMS or activity permissions
    Review installed applications in Settings > Apps > Permissions, specifically looking for apps with 'Start background activity' or SMS-related permissions that were not intentionally installed
    Affected if Unknown or suspicious third-party applications have been granted SMS or background activity permissions (these could be malicious apps exploiting this vulnerability)

A user is affected if they are running Samsung Android versions 11.0, 12.0, or 13.0 with the SmsController component present and potentially have untrusted apps with elevated permissions on their device.

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 Release1 or later firmware update to vulnerable devices. Organizations should inventory affected Samsung devices and verify patch deployment status through mobile device management (MDM) platforms.

Recommended fix High confidence

SMR Nov-2023 Release1

  1. Apply the Samsung SMR Nov-2023 Release1 security update or later to the affected device. This can typically be done by going to Settings > Software update > Download and install, or checking for system updates in the About phone section.

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,600
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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-2023-42531 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
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