AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2023-42641

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-11-01
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
In validationtools, there is a possible missing permission check. This could lead to local information disclosure with no additional execution privileges needed

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 · low confidence

This is a missing permission check vulnerability in the validationtools component that allows local information disclosure. An attacker with local access can read sensitive information without requiring elevated privileges, due to inadequate access control enforcement in the validation functionality.

MitigationImplement proper permission checks throughout validationtools to ensure all data access is authorized based on user privileges. Restrict access to sensitive validation data and operations to authorized users only.

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. Verify Android version
    Check the Android OS version on the device by going to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' in a terminal
    Affected if The installed Android version is 11.0, 12.0, or 13.0 specifically
  2. Identify validationtools component
    Check if the validationtools component is present on the device. Look for any application or system service with 'validationtools' in its name or package identifier
    Affected if The validationtools component is installed or enabled on the device
  3. Test access to validation data
    As a non-privileged local user, attempt to access any validation-related data, logs, or functionality exposed by the validationtools component without elevated permissions
    Affected if Sensitive validation data or information can be accessed without requiring elevated privileges or proper authorization checks
  4. Check component permissions
    Review the permission configuration of the validationtools component using 'dumpsys package <component_name>' or by inspecting the AndroidManifest.xml if the component is accessible
    Affected if The component lacks proper permission checks or declares overly permissive access controls

A user is affected if their device runs Android 11.0, 12.0, or 13.0 and the validationtools component with insufficient permission checks is present and exposes sensitive data to unprivileged local access.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Implement proper permission checks throughout validationtools to ensure all data access is authorized based on user privileges. Restrict access to sensitive validation data and operations to authorized users only.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-42641 — 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-2023-42641 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