CVE-2023-21248

Local privilege escalation via missing policy check

Published Jul 12, 2023 · Updated Nov 6, 2024

Missing authorization in Android 12, 12L, and 13 allows local users to gain privileges by directly opening the Wi-Fi scanning settings page. WifiScanningMainSwitchPreferenceController.getAvailabilityStatus returns the page as available without checking DISALLOW_CONFIG_LOCATION. When that administrative policy is set, a low-privileged local user can still reach the switch and change Wi-Fi scanning 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
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Summary

What happened

Missing authorization in Android 12, 12L, and 13 allows local users to gain privileges by directly opening the Wi-Fi scanning settings page. WifiScanningMainSwitchPreferenceController.getAvailabilityStatus returns the page as available without checking DISALLOW_CONFIG_LOCATION. When that administrative policy is set, a low-privileged local user can still reach the switch and change Wi-Fi scanning without user interaction.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-21248
Published
Jul 12, 2023
Updated
Nov 6, 2024
Vendor
Google
Product
Android
Classifications
CWE-862, T1548
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jul 12, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Nov 6, 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=12
  2. Affected versionversion=12L
  3. Affected versionversion=13

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Google · Androidversion=12; version=12L; version=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 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-862Missing Authorization
T1548Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism

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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