CVE-2023-21021

Guest-to-admin escalation via Wi-Fi permission bypass

Published Mar 24, 2023 · Updated Feb 26, 2025

Missing authorization in Android 13 WifiServiceImpl allows local users in a guest profile to change an administrator's Wi-Fi settings. isTargetSdkLessThanQOrPrivileged treated callers holding SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW as privileged without excluding guest users, bypassing the addNetwork permission check. A guest profile with an app holding SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW is required; exploitation changes the administrator user's saved network configuration without user interaction.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.09%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Missing authorization in Android 13 WifiServiceImpl allows local users in a guest profile to change an administrator's Wi-Fi settings. isTargetSdkLessThanQOrPrivileged treated callers holding SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW as privileged without excluding guest users, bypassing the addNetwork permission check. A guest profile with an app holding SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW is required; exploitation changes the administrator user's saved network configuration without user interaction.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-21021
Published
Mar 24, 2023
Updated
Feb 26, 2025
Vendor
Google Cloud
Product
Android
Classifications
CWE-862, T1404
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 24, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Feb 26, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=Android-13

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Google Cloud · Androidversion=Android-13

Published CVSS scores

7.8CISA ADPCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-862Missing Authorization
T1404Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo