VDB-231671 · CVE-2023-21120 · A-258188673

Google Android cdm_engine.cpp use after free

CVSS Meta Temp Score CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.	Current Exploit Price (≈) Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.	CTI Interest Score Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
6.4	$5k-$25k	0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as problematic has been found in Google Android. Affected by this vulnerability is an unknown functionality of the file cdm_engine.cpp. The manipulation leads to use after free. This vulnerability is documented as CVE-2023-21120. The attack needs to be performed locally. There is not any exploit available. It is recommended to apply a patch to fix this issue.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as problematic, has been found in Google Android (Smartphone Operating System) (version now known). This issue affects some unknown processing of the file cdm_engine.cpp. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In multiple functions of cdm_engine.cpp, there is a possible use-after-free due to improper locking. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android SoCAndroid ID: A-258188673

The weakness was released 06/16/2023 as A-258188673. It is possible to read the advisory at source.android.com. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2023-21120 since 11/03/2022. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $5k-$25k at the moment (estimation calculated on 09/13/2025). It is expected to see the exploit prices for this product increasing in the near future.

Applying a patch is able to eliminate this problem.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at EUVD (EUVD-2023-25288). Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

Smartphone Operating System

Vendor

Google

Name

Android

License

free

Website

Vendor: https://www.google.com/

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 6.5
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 6.4

VulDB Base Score: 5.3
VulDB Temp Score: 5.1
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 7.8
NVD Vector: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳

Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

VulDB Base Score: 🔍
VulDB Temp Score: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Use after free
CWE: CWE-416 / CWE-119
CAPEC: 🔍
ATT&CK: 🔍

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: No

Availability: 🔍
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔍
EPSS Percentile: 🔍

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔍

0-Day	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Patch
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔍

Timelineinfo

11/03/2022 🔍
06/15/2023 +224 days 🔍
06/16/2023 +0 days 🔍
09/13/2025 +820 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: google.com

Advisory: A-258188673
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2023-21120 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2023-21120
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-231671
EUVD: 🔍
scip Labs: https://www.scip.ch/en/?labs.20150917

Entryinfo

Created: 06/16/2023 00:11
Updated: 09/13/2025 17:07
Changes: 06/16/2023 00:11 (40), 07/14/2023 08:11 (11), 09/13/2025 17:07 (16)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103