Cyber 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

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 Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); 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

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 →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-21048Same product: Samsung Android
CVE-2026-20982Same product: Samsung Android
CVE-2024-49411Same product: Samsung Android
CVE-2025-21015Same product: Samsung Android
CVE-2023-21456Same product: Samsung Android
CVE-2024-34653Same product: Samsung Android
CVE-2023-30643Same product: Samsung Android
CVE-2023-42562Same product: Samsung Android
CVE-2023-21497Same product: Samsung Android
CVE-2023-21420Same 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 mostly match
prevents

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.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

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

A.8.9 Configuration management mostly match
prevents

Configuration management can disable or remove debug features through hardened baselines.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development life cycle mandates removal of debug code before release.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

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

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

Separation of environments reduces risk of debug code reaching production but does not directly address its removal.

A.8.32 Change management partial match
prevents

Change management can enforce removal of debug code as part of release gates.

References