dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Samsung

CVE-2023-42556

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-12-05
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 14.0 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges

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 usage of implicit intent in Contacts prior to SMR Dec-2023 Release 1 allows attacker to get 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 · high confidence

This is an Android implicit intent handling vulnerability in Samsung's Contacts application. Implicit intents allow any app to intercept sensitive data transmissions, enabling attackers to capture contact information by registering a malicious broadcast receiver. This improper intent usage in the Contacts app prior to the December 2023 Samsung Monthly Release exposes sensitive user data.

MitigationApply the Samsung SMR December-2023 Release 1 or later security update to affected devices to patch the vulnerable Contacts application. For development teams, ensure explicit intents are used instead of implicit intents when handling sensitive data in Android components.

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, < 14.0= 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
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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. Verify Samsung device and Android version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Software Information and confirm the device is a Samsung with Android version 11.0, 12.0, 13.0, or 14.0
    Affected if Device is a Samsung running Android 11.0 through 14.0 inclusive
  2. Check Contacts app version
    Go to Settings > Apps > Contacts (or Contacts Storage) > App info and note the version number
    Affected if Contacts app version is from before the December 2023 SMR patch
  3. Verify security patch level
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Software Information > Security patch level and check the date
    Affected if Security patch level is earlier than December 2023 (e.g., November 2023 or older)
  4. Confirm Contacts app is present
    Verify the Samsung Contacts application is installed on the device
    Affected if Samsung Contacts app is installed and has not been updated to the patched version

A Samsung device running Android 11.0-14.0 with the Contacts app and a security patch level before December 2023 is affected by this vulnerability.

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

Apply the Samsung SMR December-2023 Release 1 or later security update to affected devices to patch the vulnerable Contacts application. For development teams, ensure explicit intents are used instead of implicit intents when handling sensitive data in Android components.

Recommended fix High confidence

SMR Dec-2023 Release 1 (December 2023 Samsung Security Update) or later

  1. Check current Android version and security patch level: Go to Settings > About Phone > Software Information (or Settings > Device Care > Software Info)
  2. Ensure the device is connected to Wi-Fi and has sufficient battery (50%+)
  3. Go to Settings > Software Update (or Settings > Device Care > Software Update)
  4. Tap 'Download and Install' to check for available updates
  5. Select the December 2023 SMR (Samsung Mobile Security) update when available
  6. Wait for the update to download and complete installation - do not interrupt the process
  7. After reboot, verify the security patch level: Go to Settings > About Phone > Software Information > Security patch level
  8. Confirm the patch level shows December 2023 or later (SMR Dec-2023 Release 1)
Caveat Security patches typically have no breaking changes; they contain only vulnerability fixes and security improvements

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
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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-2023-42556 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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