AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2023-48398

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-12-08
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges 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 ProtocolNetAcBarringInfo::ProtocolNetAcBarringInfo() of protocolnetadapter.cpp, there is a possible out of bounds read due to a missing bounds check. This could lead to remote information disclosure with baseband firmware compromise required. 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 · high confidence

This is an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in the baseband firmware's ProtocolNetAcBarringInfo class constructor in protocolnetadapter.cpp. The missing bounds check allows reading memory beyond allocated buffers, leading to remote information disclosure. Exploitation requires prior baseband firmware compromise, indicating this is a secondary vulnerability in a chained attack scenario.

MitigationApply a firmware patch that adds proper bounds validation in the ProtocolNetAcBarringInfo constructor before accessing array indices. If no patch is available, isolate affected devices on network segments to reduce exposure to baseband-level attacks.

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:all versions

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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. Confirm Android OS is running
    Check the device operating system by looking at Settings > About Phone > Android version or running 'getprop ro.build.version.release' in ADB shell
    Affected if The device is running any version of Google Android OS - all versions are listed as affected
  2. Identify baseband firmware version
    Check the baseband/modem firmware version via Settings > About Phone > IMEI info or by running 'getprop gsm.version.baseband' in ADB shell
    Affected if Cannot determine directly from version alone since no fixed version ranges are provided; compare your baseband version against any vendor-specific security advisories if available
  3. Verify baseband integrity
    Review any available baseband integrity checks through the device's security settings or use carrier diagnostic tools if accessible
    Affected if The baseband firmware shows signs of unauthorized modification or compromise from a prior attack
  4. Confirm attack chain context
    Assess whether the baseband processor has been previously compromised, as this vulnerability is secondary and requires prior baseband firmware compromise for exploitation
    Affected if The device's baseband firmware has been previously compromised or is under attacker control prior to this vulnerability being exploitable

A user is affected if they are running Google Android and the baseband firmware has been previously compromised, enabling this secondary vulnerability to be chained in an attack.

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 a firmware patch that adds proper bounds validation in the ProtocolNetAcBarringInfo constructor before accessing array indices. If no patch is available, isolate affected devices on network segments to reduce exposure to baseband-level attacks.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Android Security Patch Level 2023-12 or later (verify via source.android.com/security/bulletin)

  1. 1. Check the Android Security Bulletin for the patch that includes the fix for CVE-2023-48398
  2. 2. Identify the Android Security Patch Level that contains the fix
  3. 3. Upgrade your Android device to a system image with the security patch level that includes the fix
  4. 4. For devices with customizable baseband firmware, contact your device manufacturer to ensure the baseband/modem firmware is also updated
Caveat Monthly security updates typically do not introduce breaking changes; however, verify OEM-specific release notes

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
  • Testing16.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
34.0 hours of engineering $5,720
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $9,152.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-48398 — 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-2023-48398 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