CVE-2023-21024

Local privilege escalation via unguarded FallbackHome activity

Published Mar 24, 2023 · Updated Feb 25, 2025

Privilege escalation in Android 13 Settings allows local users to delay device lockdown by launching the FallbackHome activity. The exported activity calls PowerManager.userActivity() without a manifest permission gate, resetting unlock time and preventing sleep. No user interaction is required; local access sufficient to launch the activity keeps the device unlocked longer and exposes protected functions.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.10%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Privilege escalation in Android 13 Settings allows local users to delay device lockdown by launching the FallbackHome activity. The exported activity calls PowerManager.userActivity() without a manifest permission gate, resetting unlock time and preventing sleep. No user interaction is required; local access sufficient to launch the activity keeps the device unlocked longer and exposes protected functions.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-21024
Published
Mar 24, 2023
Updated
Feb 25, 2025
Vendor
Google Cloud
Product
Android
Classifications
CWE-693, T1461
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 24, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Feb 25, 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.

  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.

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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-693Protection Mechanism Failure
T1461Lockscreen Bypass

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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