CVE-2023-21255

Local privilege escalation via faulty Binder cleanup

Published Jul 12, 2023 · Updated Feb 13, 2025

Use-after-free in Binder in Google Android kernels allows local users to escalate privileges through a malformed Binder transaction. A failed transaction with no processed objects supplies a zero failed_at offset, which cleanup misreads as an instruction to release every buffer object, freeing Binder nodes that later code accesses. A low-privileged local process can trigger the flaw without user interaction and gain kernel-level privileges.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.18%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Use-after-free in Binder in Google Android kernels allows local users to escalate privileges through a malformed Binder transaction. A failed transaction with no processed objects supplies a zero failed_at offset, which cleanup misreads as an instruction to release every buffer object, freeing Binder nodes that later code accesses. A low-privileged local process can trigger the flaw without user interaction and gain kernel-level privileges.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-21255
Published
Jul 12, 2023
Updated
Feb 13, 2025
Vendor
Google
Product
Android
Classifications
CWE-416, CWE-787, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jul 12, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Feb 13, 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 kernel

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Google · Androidversion=Android kernel

Published CVSS scores

7.8NVDCVSS: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-416Use After Free
CWE-787Out-of-bounds Write
T1068Exploitation 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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