Cyber Resilience

CVE-2011-1823

Memory Safety in Google Android 2.0 – 2.3.4

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedPublic PoCMemory Safety
Published
09 June 2011
Modified
21 April 2026
KEV Added
08 September 2022
CVSS Score v3.1 7.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.42 99th percentile
Risk Priority 83 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2011-1823 is a high-severity Integer Overflow or Wraparound (CWE-190) vulnerability in Google Android. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked in the top 1% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

The vulnerability is an integer overflow (CWE-190) in the vold volume manager daemon on Android 3.0 and 2.x releases prior to 2.3.4. It arises because vold trusts all messages received over a PF_NETLINK socket and performs a maximum-only bounds check on a signed integer index inside DirectVolume::handlePartitionAdded; a negative value bypasses the check and produces memory corruption.

Local users on an affected device can exploit the flaw by sending a crafted netlink message, achieving arbitrary code execution and root privileges. Publicly demonstrated proof-of-concept code such as Gingerbreak implements this attack vector.

Upstream fixes appear in the referenced Android platform commits to system/vold, system/core, and system/netd; these changes add proper validation of netlink message contents and index values. Devices must be updated to Android 2.3.4 or later, or receive the corresponding vendor patches, to close the issue.

The vulnerability saw immediate real-world exploitation through publicly released rooting tools shortly after disclosure.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

The vold volume manager daemon on Android 3.0 and 2.x before 2.3.4 trusts messages that are received from a PF_NETLINK socket, which allows local users to execute arbitrary code and gain root privileges via a negative index that bypasses a…

more

maximum-only signed integer check in the DirectVolume::handlePartitionAdded method, which triggers memory corruption, as demonstrated by Gingerbreak.

CWE(s)
CWE-190
KEV Date Added
08 September 2022

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
attack.mitre.org →
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
attack.mitre.org →
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-48595Same product: Google Androidboth on KEV
CVE-2026-0031Same product: Google Android
CVE-2024-31333Same product: Google Android
CVE-2026-0052Same product: Google Android
CVE-2023-48409Same product: Google Android
CVE-2023-21193Same product: Google Android
CVE-2026-0080Same product: Google Android
CVE-2026-0041Same product: Google Android
CVE-2026-0044Same product: Google Android
CVE-2026-0028Same product: Google Android

Affected Assets

google
android
3.0 · 2.0 — 2.3.4

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V5.2.6

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly require use of safe arithmetic, bounds checks, and testing that prevent integer overflows.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing in development can detect integer overflows before release.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure SDLC mandates input validation and arithmetic checks that prevent integer overflows.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
degrades

Application security requirements include bounds checking and safe arithmetic to avoid overflow conditions.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
degrades

Secure architecture principles require defensive coding patterns that mitigate integer wraparound risks.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe integer operations and mandate overflow-safe constructs.

References