Google has released the June 2023 Android Security Bulletin, giving carriers and device makers a fresh set of patches to install.
The June 2023 update adds fixes for 56 vulnerabilities, five of them with a critical severity rating and one exploited since at least last December.
The new security patch level 2023-06-05 integrates a patch for CVE-2022-22706, a high-severity flaw in the Mali GPU kernel driver from Arm that Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) believes may have been used in a spyware campaign targeting Samsung phones.
There are indications that CVE-2022-22706 may be under limited, targeted exploitation and CISA also highlighted the active exploitation of CVE-2022-22706 in an advisory released in late March.
With a score of 7.8 out of 10, the high-severity security issue allows non-privileged users to get write access to read-only memory pages.
According to Arm, the issue impacts the following kernel driver versions:
- Midgard GPU Kernel Driver: All versions from r26p0 – r31p0
- Bifrost GPU Kernel Driver: All versions from r0p0 – r35p0
- Valhall GPU Kernel Driver: All versions from r19p0 – r35p0
Arm fixed the issue in Bifrost and Valhall GPU Kernel Driver r36p0 and in Midgard Kernel Driver r32p0, but the fix trickled into the stable version of Android only now.
Devices running Android 10 or older are no longer supported and will not receive this security update.
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 05-06-2023 or later address all of these issues.
A vast majority of the security holes have been assigned a ‘high severity’ rating and they can be exploited for privilege escalation, DoS attacks, and information disclosure.
The vulnerability that was exploited as a zero-day has been described by Google as a moderate-severity kernel flaw that can be exploited for local privilege escalation without user interaction.
The most severe of these issues is a critical security vulnerability in the System component that could lead to remote code execution over Bluetooth, if HFP support is enabled, with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.
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 June 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
01-06-2023 security patch level—Vulnerability details
Framework
The most severe vulnerability in this section could lead to remote code execution with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is needed for exploitation.
| CVE | References | Type | Severity | Updated AOSP versions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2023-21127 | A-275418191 | RCE | Critical | 11, 12, 12L, 13 |
| CVE-2023-21126 | A-271846393 | EoP | High | 13 |
| CVE-2023-21128 | A-272042183 | EoP | High | 11, 12, 12L, 13 |
| CVE-2023-21129 | A-274759612 | EoP | High | 11, 12, 12L, 13 |
| CVE-2023-21131 | A-265015796 | EoP | High | 11, 12, 12L, 13 |
| CVE-2023-21139 | A-271845008 | EoP | High | 13 |
| CVE-2023-21105 | A-261036568 | ID | High | 11, 12, 12L, 13 |
| CVE-2023-21136 | A-246542285 | DoS | High | 11, 12, 12L, 13 |
| CVE-2023-21137 | A-246541702 | DoS | High | 11, 12, 12L, 13 |
| CVE-2023-21143 | A-268193777 | DoS | High | 11, 12, 12L, 13 |
System
The most severe vulnerability in this section could lead to remote code execution over Bluetooth, if HFP support is enabled, with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.
| CVE | References | Type | Severity | Updated AOSP versions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2023-21108 | A-239414876 | RCE | Critical | 11, 12, 12L, 13 |
| CVE-2023-21130 | A-273502002 | RCE | Critical | 13 |
| CVE-2023-21115 | A-258834033 | EoP | High | 11, 12, 12L |
| CVE-2023-21121 | A-205460459 | EoP | High | 11, 12 |
| CVE-2023-21122 | A-270050191 | EoP | High | 11, 12, 12L, 13 |
| CVE-2023-21123 | A-270050064 | EoP | High | 11, 12, 12L, 13 |
| CVE-2023-21124 | A-265798353 | EoP | High | 11, 12, 12L, 13 |
| CVE-2023-21135 | A-260570119 | EoP | High | 11, 12, 12L, 13 |
| CVE-2023-21138 | A-273260090 | EoP | High | 11, 12, 12L, 13 |
| CVE-2023-21095 | A-242704576 | ID | High | 12L, 13 |
| CVE-2023-21141 | A-262244249 | ID | High | 11, 12, 12L, 13 |
| CVE-2023-21142 | A-262243665 | ID | High | 11, 12, 12L, 13 |
| CVE-2023-21144 | A-252766417 | DoS | High | 11, 12, 12L, 13 |
05-06-2023 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-2022-22706 | A-225040268 | High | Mali |
| CVE-2022-28349 | A-278616909 | High | Mali |
| CVE-2022-46781 | A-267242697 | High | Mali |
Imagination Technologies
These vulnerabilities affect Imagination Technologies components and further details are available directly from Imagination Technologies. The severity assessment of these issues is provided directly by Imagination Technologies.
| CVE | References | Severity | Subcomponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2021-0701 | A-277775870 | High | PowerVR-GPU |
| CVE-2021-0945 | A-278156680 | High | PowerVR-GPU |
Unisoc components
These vulnerabilities affect Unisoc components and further details are available directly from Unisoc. The severity assessment of these issues is provided directly by Unisoc.
| CVE | References | Severity | Subcomponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2022-48390 | A-278796976 U-2055602 | High | Android |
| CVE-2022-48392 | A-278775990 U-2193456 U-2056224 | High | Android |
| CVE-2022-48438 | A-278801630 U-2179935 | High | Kernel/Android |
| CVE-2022-48391 | A-278775987 U-2055602 | High | Android |
Widevine DRM
These vulnerabilities affect Widevine DRM components and further details are available directly from Widevine DRM. The severity assessment of these issues is provided directly by Widevine DRM.
| CVE | References | Severity | Subcomponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2023-21101 | A-258189255 | High | widevine |
| CVE-2023-21120 | A-258188673 | High | Hardware DRM |
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-2022-33292 | A-250627197 QC-CR#3152855 | High | Kernel |
| CVE-2023-21656 | A-271879673 QC-CR#3346781 | High | WLAN |
| CVE-2023-21657 | A-271880369 QC-CR#3344305 | High | Audio |
| CVE-2023-21669 | A-271892276 QC-CR#3346764 | High | WLAN |
| CVE-2023-21670 | A-276750663 QC-CR#3425942 | High | Display |
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-2022-33257 | A-245402340 | Critical | Closed-source component |
| CVE-2022-40529 | A-261470065 | Critical | Closed-source component |
| CVE-2022-22060 | A-261470067 | High | Closed-source component |
| CVE-2022-33251 | A-245403689 | High | Closed-source component |
| CVE-2022-33264 | A-245611823 | High | Closed-source component |
| CVE-2022-40516 | A-261468731 | High | Closed-source component |
| CVE-2022-40517 | A-261470729 | High | Closed-source component |
| CVE-2022-40520 | A-261468681 | High | Closed-source component |
| CVE-2022-40521 | A-261471027 | High | Closed-source component |
| CVE-2022-40523 | A-261468047 | High | Closed-source component |
| CVE-2022-40533 | A-261470447 | High | Closed-source component |
| CVE-2022-40536 | A-261468732 | High | Closed-source component |
| CVE-2022-40538 | A-261468697 | High | Closed-source component |
| CVE-2023-21628 | A-268059669 | High | Closed-source component |
| CVE-2023-21658 | A-271879161 | High | Closed-source component |
| CVE-2023-21659 | A-271879660 | High | Closed-source component |
| CVE-2023-21661 | A-271880271 | High | Closed-source component |
Full details of the June 2023 Android Security Bulletin are available here.
