Chromecast FirmwareOperating system · Google
CVE-2023-48426
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 · uneditedu-boot bug that allows for u-boot shell and interrupt over UART
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 confidenceA critical vulnerability in the U-Boot bootloader allows an attacker with UART access to obtain a shell prompt and interrupt the boot process. This enables unauthenticated full control over the device at the bootloader level, bypassing all operating system security controls.
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
Chromecast FirmwareOperating system
= 5.0CVSS 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
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify device model and firmware versionLocate the device label or access system information to confirm it is a Google Chromecast and determine the installed firmware version. Compare against version 5.0.Affected if The device is a Google Chromecast running firmware version 5.0.
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Inspect UART hardware accessPhysically examine the device PCB for exposed UART pins (typically a 4-6 pin header with TX, RX, GND, VCC). Check if these pins are accessible without special tools or if the case restricts access.Affected if UART pins are physically exposed or easily accessible on the device.
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Check U-Boot boot configurationConnect to UART and observe the boot sequence output. Press any key or break sequence (commonly Esc, Enter, or a specific key) during the boot window to determine if U-Boot interrupts to a command prompt.Affected if The boot process can be interrupted via UART to reveal a shell prompt.
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Verify UART console securityDuring the U-Boot boot phase, check if the bootloader or shell prompts for a password before granting access. Attempt to access the shell without credentials.Affected if UART console provides shell access without requiring authentication.
A user is affected if they have a Google Chromecast with firmware 5.0 where the U-Boot UART console is accessible and allows shell access without authentication.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataDisable or password-protect UART console access in U-Boot configuration, disable the shell/interrupt functionality in production builds, and enforce physical security controls on device access ports.
Fix this in Chromecast Firmware
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $10,240.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-48426 — 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 sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-48426 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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