Physical privilege escalation via oversized USB request
Published Apr 19, 2023 · Updated Feb 5, 2025
An out-of-bounds write in Android kernel USB accessory handling allows physically proximate attackers to escalate privileges via USB. The USB accessory control path can pass a transfer length up to 16 KiB even though composite_dev_prepare allocates only a 4 KiB endpoint-zero buffer. Exploitation requires a physically connected accessory and user interaction; the unchecked length permits a kernel-memory overwrite that grants elevated privileges.
Summary
What happened
An out-of-bounds write in Android kernel USB accessory handling allows physically proximate attackers to escalate privileges via USB. The USB accessory control path can pass a transfer length up to 16 KiB even though composite_dev_prepare allocates only a 4 KiB endpoint-zero buffer. Exploitation requires a physically connected accessory and user interaction; the unchecked length permits a kernel-memory overwrite that grants elevated privileges.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2023-20941
- Published
- Apr 19, 2023
- Updated
- Feb 5, 2025
- Vendor
- Google Cloud
- Product
- Android
- Classifications
- CWE-787, T1068
- Attack vector
- physical
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Apr 19, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Feb 5, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
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- Affected versionversion=Android kernel
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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