Local privilege escalation via mismatched WorkSource parceling
Published Mar 24, 2023 · Updated Oct 21, 2025
Local privilege escalation in Android 11, 12, 12L, and 13 allows local users to execute code in a privileged process via WorkSource parcels. WorkSource writes an empty non-null WorkChain list, but its parcel constructor reads the list only when the recorded size is positive, leaving a size value to corrupt later parcel fields. A low-privileged app can exploit the resulting object confusion without user interaction to execute code in a privileged context.
Summary
What happened
Local privilege escalation in Android 11, 12, 12L, and 13 allows local users to execute code in a privileged process via WorkSource parcels. WorkSource writes an empty non-null WorkChain list, but its parcel constructor reads the list only when the recorded size is positive, leaving a size value to corrupt later parcel fields. A low-privileged app can exploit the resulting object confusion without user interaction to execute code in a privileged context.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2023-20963
- Published
- Mar 24, 2023
- Updated
- Oct 21, 2025
- Vendor
- Google Cloud
- Product
- Android
- Classifications
- CWE-295, T1404
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Mar 24, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Apr 13, 2023Exploitation reportedCISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities entry
- Oct 21, 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?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=Android-11 Android-12 Android-12L Android-13
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- BadParcel proof of conceptproof of concept · demonstrated
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Reported exploitation
- Limited targeted exploitation reported by Androidreported exploitation
- CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities entryknown exploited catalog
Technologies
Your stack
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
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