VulnerabilityPublished 27 Oct 2023Updated 17 Dec 2025

CVE-2023-40130: Google Android · Elevation of Privilege

Affects Google AndroidSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.8 High.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 15:59 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.8High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 1% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Attack Vector: Local
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Availability: High

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Local: The vulnerable component is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either: the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or remotely (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., tricking a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 27 Oct 2023
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Google Android	Affected 13 – 16 4 affected builds	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

Apply official security patches from Google as soon as they become available to address CVE-2023-40130.
Restrict installation of applications from untrusted sources to minimize the risk of malicious local apps exploiting the vulnerability.
Employ Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions to enforce security policies, monitor device behavior, and restrict background activity launches where possible.
Conduct regular security audits and behavioral monitoring on Android devices to detect unusual background processes or privilege escalations.
Educate users about the risks of installing unauthorized applications and the importance of device security hygiene.
For highly sensitive environments, consider implementing additional endpoint protection solutions capable of detecting privilege escalation attempts.
Limit physical access to devices to prevent exploitation via local access.
Monitor threat intelligence feeds for any emerging exploits targeting this vulnerability to respond promptly.

Description

In notifyTimeout of CallRedirectionProcessor, there is a possible permission bypass due to a logic error in the code. This could lead to local escalation of privilege and background activity launch with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.

Impact

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a significant risk, especially for enterprises relying heavily on Android devices for business operations, including mobile workforce management, secure communications, and sensitive data access. Successful exploitation could allow attackers to bypass security controls, access confidential information, manipulate data integrity, or disrupt device availability by launching unauthorized background activities. This could lead to data breaches, espionage, or operational disruptions. The local attack vector implies that attackers need some form of local access, which could be achieved through malicious apps, insider threats, or physical access. Given the high Android market penetration across Europe, especially in countries with large mobile workforces and critical infrastructure sectors, the potential impact is broad. Additionally, the lack of user interaction requirement facilitates stealthy attacks, increasing the risk of unnoticed compromise. Organizations in regulated sectors such as finance, healthcare, and government are particularly vulnerable due to the sensitivity of the data handled on mobile devices.

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 17 Dec 2025, 16:41 UTC

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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