CVE-2023-21055

Local privilege escalation via ioctl race

Published Mar 24, 2023 · Updated Feb 21, 2025

Use-after-free in Android kernel dit_hal_ioctl allows local users with System execution privileges to escalate privileges without interaction. A race in dit.c lets dit_hal_ioctl continue using an object after its lifetime ends. Exploitation requires local access with existing System execution privileges, and successful triggering grants higher privileges on affected Pixel cpif kernels.

CVSS severity6.4
Medium
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

Use-after-free in Android kernel dit_hal_ioctl allows local users with System execution privileges to escalate privileges without interaction. A race in dit.c lets dit_hal_ioctl continue using an object after its lifetime ends. Exploitation requires local access with existing System execution privileges, and successful triggering grants higher privileges on affected Pixel cpif kernels.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-21055
Published
Mar 24, 2023
Updated
Feb 21, 2025
Vendor
Google Cloud
Product
Android
Classifications
CWE-416, T1404
Attack vector
local
Privileges
admin

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 24, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Feb 21, 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 kernel

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

Google Cloud · Androidversion=Android kernel

Published CVSS scores

6.4NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
6.4CISA-ADPCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/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
Privilegesadmin
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-416Use After Free
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