Google has released the October 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 06-10-2023 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 (proximal/adjacent) code execution with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.
The October 2023 security update brings patches for 51 vulnerabilities for Android, including fixes for two zero-day flaws exploited in malicious attacks.
The first of the exploited issues is CVE-2023-4863 (CVSS score of 8.8), a heap buffer overflow in the Libwebp library that leads to an out-of-bounds memory write and remote code execution (RCE). The vulnerability impacts the System component and assesses it with a ‘critical’ severity rating.
The second zero-day flaw addressed in Android this month is CVE-2023-4211, a bug in the Arm Mali GPU driver that allows a local non-privileged user to make “improper GPU memory processing operations to gain access to already freed memory”.
“There is evidence that this vulnerability may be under limited, targeted exploitation,” Google and Arm note in their advisories.
Typically, Google splits Android security bulletins into two different patch levels, based on the affected components, but this month’s bulletin has a third part, the 2023-10-06 security patch level, which specifically addresses CVE-2023-4863.
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.
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 October 6, 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
01-10-2023 security patch level—Vulnerability details
Framework
The most severe vulnerability in this section could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed.
| CVE | References | Type | Severity | Updated AOSP versions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2023-21266 | A-223376078 | EoP | High | 11, 12, 12L, 13 |
| CVE-2023-40116 | A-270368476 | EoP | High | 11, 12, 12L |
| CVE-2023-40120 | A-274775190 | EoP | High | 11, 12, 12L, 13 |
| CVE-2023-40131 | A-282919145 | EoP | High | 12, 12L, 13 |
| CVE-2023-40140 | A-274058082 | EoP | High | 11, 12, 12L, 13 |
| CVE-2023-21291 | A-277593270 | ID | High | 11, 12, 12L, 13 |
| CVE-2023-40121 | A-224771621 | ID | High | 11, 12, 12L, 13 |
| CVE-2023-40134 | A-283101289 | ID | High | 12, 12L, 13 |
| CVE-2023-40136 | A-281666022 | ID | High | 11, 12, 12L, 13 |
| CVE-2023-40137 | A-281665050 | ID | High | 11, 12, 12L, 13 |
| CVE-2023-40138 | A-281534749 | ID | High | 11, 12, 12L, 13 |
| CVE-2023-40139 | A-281533566 | ID | High | 11, 12, 12L, 13 |
System
The most severe vulnerability in this section could lead to remote (proximal/adjacent) code execution with no additional execution privileges needed.
| CVE | References | Type | Severity | Updated AOSP versions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2023-40129 | A-273874525 | RCE | Critical | 12, 12L, 13 |
| CVE-2023-21244 | A-276729064 | EoP | High | 11, 12, 12L, 13 |
| CVE-2023-40117 | A-253043065 | EoP | High | 11, 12, 12L, 13 |
| CVE-2023-40125 | A-279902472 | EoP | High | 11, 12, 12L, 13 |
| CVE-2023-40128 | A-274231102 | EoP | High | 11, 12, 12L, 13 |
| CVE-2023-40130 | A-289809991 | EoP | High | 11, 12, 12L, 13 |
| CVE-2023-40123 | A-278246904 | ID | High | 11, 12, 12L, 13 |
| CVE-2023-40127 | A-262244882 | ID | High | 11, 12, 12L, 13 |
| CVE-2023-40133 | A-283264674 | ID | High | 11, 12, 12L, 13 |
| CVE-2023-40135 | A-281848557 | ID | High | 11, 12, 12L, 13 |
| CVE-2023-21252 | A-275339978 | DoS | High | 11, 12, 12L, 13 |
| CVE-2023-21253 | A-266580022 | DoS | High | 11, 12, 12L, 13 |
Google Play system updates
The following issues are included in Project Mainline components.
| Subcomponent | CVE |
|---|---|
| MediaProvider | CVE-2023-40127 |
| WiFi | CVE-2023-21252 |
05-10-2023 security patch level—Vulnerability details
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.
| CVE | References | Severity | Subcomponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2021-44828 | A-296461583 | High | Mali |
| CVE-2022-28348 | A-296463357 | High | Mali |
| CVE-2023-4211 | A-294605494 | High | Mali |
| CVE-2023-33200 | A-287627703 | High | Mali |
| CVE-2023-34970 | A-287624919 | High | Mali |
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.
| CVE | References | Severity | Subcomponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2023-20819 | A-294779648 M-MOLY01068234 | High | CDMA PPP protocol |
| CVE-2023-32819 | A-294779649 M-ALPS07993705 | High | display |
| CVE-2023-32820 | A-294781433 M-ALPS07932637 | High | wlan firmware |
Unisoc components
This vulnerability affects Unisoc components and further details are available directly from Unisoc. The severity assessment of this issue is provided directly by Unisoc.
| CVE | References | Severity | Subcomponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2023-40638 | A-296491611 U-2212107 | High | Android |
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.
| CVE | References | Severity | Subcomponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2023-33029 | A-290061916 QC-CR#3446314 | High | Kernel |
| CVE-2023-33034 | A-290060972 QC-CR#3438425 | High | Audio |
| CVE-2023-33035 | A-290061247 QC-CR#3438021 | High | Audio |
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.
| CVE | References | Severity | Subcomponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2023-24855 | A-276750662 | Critical | Closed-source component |
| CVE-2023-28540 | A-276751073 | Critical | Closed-source component |
| CVE-2023-33028 | A-290060590 | Critical | Closed-source component |
| CVE-2023-21673 | A-276750698 | High | Closed-source component |
| CVE-2023-22385 | A-276750699 | High | Closed-source component |
| CVE-2023-24843 | A-276750762 | High | Closed-source component |
| CVE-2023-24844 | A-276750872 | High | Closed-source component |
| CVE-2023-24847 | A-276751090 | High | Closed-source component |
| CVE-2023-24848 | A-276750995 | High | Closed-source component |
| CVE-2023-24849 | A-276751370 | High | Closed-source component |
| CVE-2023-24850 | A-276751108 | High | Closed-source component |
| CVE-2023-24853 | A-276751372 | High | Closed-source component |
| CVE-2023-33026 | A-290061996 | High | Closed-source component |
| CVE-2023-33027 | A-290061249 | High | Closed-source component |
06-10-2023 security patch level – vulnerability details
System
| CVE | References | Type | Severity | Updated AOSP versions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2023-4863 | A-299477569 | RCE | Critical | 11, 12, 12L, 13 |
Full details of the October 2023 Android Security Bulletin are available here.
