Security Resilience

CVE-2023-21496

Samsung Android 11.0 … 13.0

Published
04 May 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 6.1
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
EPSS Score 0.0018 7th percentile
Risk Priority 44 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2023-21496 is a medium-severity Active Debug Code (CWE-489) vulnerability in Samsung Android. Its CVSS base score is 6.1 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Junk Data (T1001.001); ranked at the 7th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A02:2025 Security Misconfiguration

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Active Debug Code vulnerability in ActivityManagerService prior to SMR May-2023 Release 1 allows attacker to use debug function via setting debug level.

CWE(s)
CWE-489NVD-CWE-Other

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1001.001 Junk Data Command And Control
Adversaries may add junk data to protocols used for command and control to make detection more difficult.
attack.mitre.org →
T1001.002 Steganography Command And Control
Adversaries may use steganographic techniques to hide command and control traffic to make detection efforts more difficult.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.002 Security Account Manager Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to extract credential material from the Security Account Manager (SAM) database either through in-memory techniques or through the Windows Registry where the SAM database is stored.
attack.mitre.org →
T1008 Fallback Channels Command And Control
Adversaries may use fallback or alternate communication channels if the primary channel is compromised or inaccessible in order to maintain reliable command and control and to avoid data transfer thresholds.
attack.mitre.org →
T1011 Exfiltration Over Other Network Medium Exfiltration
Adversaries may attempt to exfiltrate data over a different network medium than the command and control channel.
attack.mitre.org →
T1020.001 Traffic Duplication Exfiltration
Adversaries may leverage traffic mirroring in order to automate data exfiltration over compromised infrastructure.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-21015Same product: Samsung Android
CVE-2025-21048Same product: Samsung Android
CVE-2024-34653Same product: Samsung Android
CVE-2024-49411Same product: Samsung Android
CVE-2026-20982Same product: Samsung Android
CVE-2023-21456Same product: Samsung Android
CVE-2023-30643Same product: Samsung Android
CVE-2023-21420Same product: Samsung Android
CVE-2023-21497Same product: Samsung Android
CVE-2023-42563Same product: Samsung Android

Affected Assets

samsung
android
11.0, 12.0, 13.0

Mitigating Controls

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

SC-25 Thin Nodes
addresses: CWE-489

Minimal functionality precludes inclusion of active debug code or diagnostic interfaces.

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 partial match
blocks

Secure SDLC practices directly require removal of debug code before release, covering most of this weakness while the control addresses many other development issues.

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.8.19 Installation of software on operational systems partial match
removes
A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
blocks

A.8.25 mandates secure SDLC practices including secure coding, security testing, checkpoints, and developer training that reduce the chance of shipping active debug code, but does not guarantee its absence in every release (e.g. via incomplete enforcement or outsourced gaps).

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
removes
A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly prohibit leaving debug code active in production.

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

Security testing in development and acceptance catches active debug code before deployment.

A.8.31 Separation of development, test and production environments partial match
blocks

A.8.31 separates environments and controls movement between them but does not stop active debug code from remaining present and exploitable in a released production build

References