CVE-2023-21126

Local privilege escalation via unwrapped media PendingIntent

Published Jun 15, 2023 · Updated Dec 18, 2024

Elevation of privilege in Android 13 Framework allows local users to launch arbitrary activities with SystemUI privileges via media controls. MediaControlPanel.bindOutputSwitcherAndBroadcastButton unwraps an app-supplied remote-device PendingIntent and starts its raw Intent through SystemUI instead of preserving the creator identity. A local app can reach the path through a crafted media notification without user interaction, gaining SystemUI-level activity-launch authority.

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

What happened

Elevation of privilege in Android 13 Framework allows local users to launch arbitrary activities with SystemUI privileges via media controls. MediaControlPanel.bindOutputSwitcherAndBroadcastButton unwraps an app-supplied remote-device PendingIntent and starts its raw Intent through SystemUI instead of preserving the creator identity. A local app can reach the path through a crafted media notification without user interaction, gaining SystemUI-level activity-launch authority.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-21126
Published
Jun 15, 2023
Updated
Dec 18, 2024
Vendor
Google Cloud
Product
Android
Classifications
CWE-276, T1404
Attack vector
local
Privileges
Unavailable

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jun 15, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Dec 18, 2024Record 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 privilegesUnavailable in this record.

What is affected?

Google Cloud · Androidversion=Android-13

Published CVSS scores

7.8NIST NVDCVSS: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
PrivilegesUnavailable
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-276Incorrect Default Permissions
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

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Your stack

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