Android Security

Google releases July 2023 Android Security Bulletin and Google Device Images

The most severe of these issues is a high security vulnerability in the Framework component

Google has released the July 2023 Android Security Bulletin, giving carriers and device makers a fresh set of patches to install.

Though Google puts out the Android security patches each month, the job of actually getting the fixes to end users falls on the telcos and/or device manufacturers themselves. Those partners vary in their ability to release the patches in a timely fashion.

The Android Security Bulletin contains details of security vulnerabilities affecting Android devices. Security patch levels of 05-07-2023 or later address all of these issues.

The most severe of these issues is a critical security vulnerability in the System component that could lead to remote code execution with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.

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The severity assessment is based on the effect that exploiting the vulnerability would possibly have on an affected device, assuming the platform and service mitigations are turned off for development purposes or if successfully bypassed.

The update addresses 46 new software vulnerabilities. Among these, three vulnerabilities have been identified as actively exploited in targeted attacks.

One of the vulnerabilities tracked as CVE-2023-26083 is a memory leak flaw affecting the Arm Mali GPU driver for Bifrost, Avalon, and Valhall chips. This particular vulnerability was exploited in a previous attack that enabled spyware infiltration on Samsung devices in December 2022.

This vulnerability was regarded as serious enough to prompt the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to issue a patching order for federal agencies in April 2023.

Another significant vulnerability, identified as CVE-2021-29256, is a high-severity issue that affects specific versions of the Bifrost and Midgard Arm Mali GPU kernel drivers. This flaw permits an unprivileged user to gain unauthorized access to sensitive data and escalate privileges to the root level.

The third exploited vulnerability, CVE-2023-2136, is a critical-severity bug discovered in Skia, Google’s open-source multi-platform 2D graphics library. It was initially disclosed as a zero-day vulnerability in the Chrome browser and allows a remote attacker who has taken over the renderer process to perform a sandbox escape and implement remote code on Android devices.

Besides these, Google’s July Android security bulletin highlights another critical vulnerability, CVE-2023-21250, affecting the Android System component. This issue can cause remote code execution without user interaction or additional execution privileges, making it particularly precarious.

Alongside the bulletin, Google have released a security update to Google devices through an over-the-air (OTA) update. The Google device firmware images have also been released to the Google Developer site. Security patch levels of July 5, 2023 or later address all of these issues.

The tables below contains a list of security vulnerabilities, the Common Vulnerability and Exposures ID (CVE), the assessed severity, and whether or not Google devices are affected. The severity assessment is based on the effect that exploiting the vulnerability would possibly have on an affected device, assuming the platform and service mitigations are disabled for development purposes or if successfully bypassed.

Android and Google Service Mitigation’s

This is a summary of the mitigation’s provided by the Android security platform and service protections such as Google Play Protect. These capabilities reduce the likelihood that security vulnerabilities could be successfully exploited on Android.

  • Exploitation for many issues on Android is made more difficult by enhancements in newer versions of the Android platform. All users are encouraged to update to the latest version of Android where possible.
  • The Android security team actively monitors for abuse through Google Play Protect and warns users about Potentially Harmful Applications. Google Play Protect is enabled by default on devices with Google Mobile Services, and is especially important for users who install apps from outside of Google Play.

Terminology

You will find different types of vulnerabilities listed. Possible types include:

  • RCE – Remote code execution
  • EoP – Elevation of privilege
  • ID – Information disclosure
  • DoS – Denial of service
  • N/A – Classification not available

01-07-2023 security patch level—Vulnerability details

Framework

The most severe vulnerability in this section could allow possible elevation of privilege due to a confused deputy with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.

CVEReferencesTypeSeverityUpdated AOSP versions
CVE-2023-20918A-243794108EoPHigh11, 12, 12L, 13
CVE-2023-20942A-258021433EoPHigh12, 12L, 13
CVE-2023-21145A-265293293EoPHigh11, 12, 12L, 13
CVE-2023-21245A-222446076EoPHigh11, 12, 12L, 13
CVE-2023-21251A-204554636EoPHigh11, 12, 12L, 13
CVE-2023-21254A-254736794EoPHigh13
CVE-2023-21257A-257443065EoPHigh13
CVE-2023-21262A-279905816EoPHigh12, 12L, 13
CVE-2023-21238A-277740848IDHigh11, 12, 12L, 13
CVE-2023-21239A-274592467IDHigh12, 12L, 13
CVE-2023-21249A-217981062IDHigh13
CVE-2023-21087A-261723753DoSHigh11, 12, 12L, 13

System

The most severe vulnerability in this section could lead to remote code execution with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.

CVEReferencesTypeSeverityUpdated AOSP versions
CVE-2023-21250A-261068592RCECritical11, 12, 12L, 13
CVE-2023-2136A-278113033RCEHigh13
CVE-2023-21241A-271849189EoPHigh11, 12, 12L, 13
CVE-2023-21246A-273729476EoPHigh11, 12, 12L, 13
CVE-2023-21247A-277333781EoPHigh12, 12L, 13
CVE-2023-21248A-277333746EoPHigh12, 12L, 13
CVE-2023-21256A-268193384EoPHigh13
CVE-2023-21261A-271680254IDHigh11, 12, 12L, 13
CVE-2023-20910A-245299920DoSHigh11, 12, 12L, 13
CVE-2023-21240A-275340417DoSHigh11, 12, 12L, 13
CVE-2023-21243A-274445194DoSHigh11, 12, 12L, 13

Google Play system updates

The following issues are included in Project Mainline components.

SubcomponentCVE
WiFiCVE-2023-20910, CVE-2023-21240, CVE-2023-21243

05-07-2023 security patch level—Vulnerability details

Kernel

The most severe vulnerability in this section could lead to local escalation of privilege in the kernel with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.

CVEReferencesTypeSeveritySubcomponent
CVE-2022-42703A-253167854
Upstream kernel
EoPHighMemoryManagement
CVE-2023-21255A-275041864
Upstream kernel
EoPHighBinder

Kernel components

The vulnerability in this section could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.

CVEReferencesTypeSeveritySubcomponent
CVE-2023-25012A-268589017
Upstream kernel
EoPHighHID

Arm components

These vulnerabilities affect Arm components and further details are available directly from Arm. The severity assessment of these issues is provided directly by Arm.

CVEReferencesSeveritySubcomponent
CVE-2021-29256A-283489460HighMali
CVE-2022-28350A-226921651HighMali
CVE-2023-28147A-274005916HighMali
CVE-2023-26083A-272073598ModerateMali

Imagination Technologies

This vulnerability affects Imagination Technologies components and further details are available directly from Imagination Technologies. The severity assessment of this issue is provided directly by Imagination Technologies.

CVEReferencesSeveritySubcomponent
CVE-2021-0948A-281905774HighPowerVR-GPU

MediaTek components

These vulnerabilities affect MediaTek components and further details are available directly from MediaTek. The severity assessment of these issues is provided directly by MediaTek.

CVEReferencesSeveritySubcomponent
CVE-2023-20754A-280380543
M-ALPS07563028
Highkeyinstall
CVE-2023-20755A-280374982
M-ALPS07510064
Highkeyinstall

Qualcomm components

These vulnerabilities affect Qualcomm components and are described in further detail in the appropriate Qualcomm security bulletin or security alert. The severity assessment of these issues is provided directly by Qualcomm.

CVEReferencesSeveritySubcomponent
CVE-2023-21672A-276751075
QC-CR#3313322
HighAudio
CVE-2023-22386A-276750584
QC-CR#3355665
HighWLAN
CVE-2023-22387A-276750306
QC-CR#3356023
HighKernel
CVE-2023-24851A-276751076
QC-CR#3359589
HighWLAN
CVE-2023-24854A-276750639
QC-CR#3366343
HighWLAN
CVE-2023-28541A-276750665
QC-CR#3144133
HighWLAN
CVE-2023-28542A-276750246
QC-CR#3104318
HighWLAN

Qualcomm closed-source components

These vulnerabilities affect Qualcomm closed-source components and are described in further detail in the appropriate Qualcomm security bulletin or security alert. The severity assessment of these issues is provided directly by Qualcomm.

CVEReferencesSeveritySubcomponent
CVE-2023-21629A-264414032CriticalClosed-source component
CVE-2023-21631A-264415234HighClosed-source component
CVE-2023-22667A-276750583HighClosed-source component

Full details of the July 2023 Android Security Bulletin are available here.