Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-21513

Samsung Android 11.0 … 13.0

Published
28 June 2023
Modified
05 December 2024
Patch / 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 0.0039 32th percentile
Risk Priority 46 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-21513 is a medium-severity Improper Privilege Management (CWE-269) vulnerability in Samsung Android. Its CVSS base score is 6.1 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism (T1548); ranked at the 32th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Improper privilege management vulnerability in CC Mode prior to SMR Jun-2023 Release 1 allows physical attackers to manipulate device to operate in way that results in unexpected behavior in CC Mode under specific condition.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1548 Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may circumvent mechanisms designed to control privilege elevation to gain higher-level permissions.
T1134 Access Token Manipulation Stealth
Adversaries may modify access tokens to operate under a different user or system security context to perform actions and bypass access controls.
T1548.001 Setuid and Setgid Privilege Escalation
An adversary may abuse configurations where an application has the setuid or setgid bits set in order to get code running in a different (and possibly more privileged) user’s context.
T1548.003 Sudo and Sudo Caching Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may perform sudo caching and/or use the sudoers file to elevate privileges.
T1574.010 Services File Permissions Weakness Stealth
Adversaries may execute their own malicious payloads by hijacking the binaries used by services.
T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-21512Same product: Samsung Android
CVE-2023-21458Same product: Samsung Android
CVE-2023-30642Same product: Samsung Android
CVE-2023-30713Same product: Samsung Android
CVE-2021-25337Same product: Samsung Android
CVE-2023-21421Same product: Samsung Android
CVE-2023-30680Same product: Samsung Android
CVE-2024-20830Same product: Samsung Android
CVE-2024-34679Same product: Samsung Android
CVE-2024-34617Same product: Samsung Android

Affected Assets

samsung
android
11.0, 12.0, 13.0

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 16 hardening rules · 5 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

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.

addresses: CWE-269 CWE-276

Policy addresses roles, responsibilities, and privilege management to prevent improper privilege assignments.

addresses: CWE-269 CWE-276

Implements core proper privilege management by restricting to only required rights.

addresses: CWE-269 CWE-276

Baseline configuration documents and controls privilege assignments, making improper privilege management harder to introduce or sustain.

addresses: CWE-276 CWE-269

Requiring the most restrictive settings instead of defaults prevents incorrect default permissions on resources.

addresses: CWE-269 CWE-276

Defines roles and responsibilities to ensure proper privilege management during configuration changes.

addresses: CWE-269 CWE-276

Designates roles and review processes for managing physical privileges and access rights.

addresses: CWE-276 CWE-269

Tailoring explicitly overrides or scopes default permission assignments in the baseline to match the system's actual risk and operational needs.

addresses: CWE-269 CWE-276

Centralized privilege assignment and oversight prevent ad-hoc or excessive privilege grants that occur when each system is configured independently.

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-01 full match
prevents

Hardened baselines and configuration management explicitly require correct default file permissions.

PR.AA-05 mostly match
prevents

PR.AA-05 enforces least privilege/SoD and periodic reviews that directly remove most privilege-assignment defects, yet CWE-269 also covers escalation paths and role design outside a single access-management control.

ID.AM-08 partial match
prevents

Lifecycle management can encompass permission settings, yet the control is too broad to specifically mitigate incorrect defaults.

PR.AA-01 partial match
prevents

PR.AA-01 supplies credential/identity lifecycle support that can reduce some privilege-assignment errors but does not itself assign, modify, or check privileges, leaving most of CWE-269's risk unaddressed.

PR.PS-05 partial match
prevents

PR.PS-05 can partially limit exploitability of some privilege issues via execution restrictions, but does not address the core design/implementation flaws of CWE-269 at all.

PR.PS-06 partial match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices include establishing secure defaults, but address only the development-phase portion of the weakness.

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.

prevents

Requiring owner approval, segregation of duties, and periodic reviews prevents the assignment of excessive or unnecessary privileges to users or processes.

prevents

Enforcing minimum-necessary privileges, temporary grants, and separation of administrative versus normal identities prevents the over-assignment of rights that CWE-269 describes.

prevents

Dynamic techniques that grant the minimum necessary rights for a given time window and revoke them afterward reduce the window in which excessive or unnecessary privileges can be exploited.

prevents

Standard templates that restrict access to utility programs and host parameter settings prevent the assignment of overly permissive default permissions on critical resources.

prevents

Explicit restrictions on privileged access and segregation of duties limit the scope of privileges that can be assigned, reducing the chance that excessive or unnecessary privileges are granted to entities.

prevents

Defining and communicating authorization levels for each role limits the assignment of excessive or unnecessary privileges.

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Windows 10 (1 rule)
  • V-220712 Only accounts responsible for the administration of a system must have Administrator rights on the system. prevents CWE-269
Windows 11 (1 rule)
  • V-253269 Only accounts responsible for the administration of a system must have Administrator rights on the system. prevents CWE-269
Windows Server 2016 (3 rules)
  • V-224833 Permissions for program file directories must conform to minimum requirements. prevents CWE-276
  • V-224834 Permissions for the Windows installation directory must conform to minimum requirements. prevents CWE-276
  • V-225007 Only administrators responsible for the member server or standalone or nondomain-joined system must have Administrator rights on the system. prevents CWE-269
Windows Server 2019 (3 rules)
  • V-205735 Windows Server 2019 permissions for program file directories must conform to minimum requirements. prevents CWE-276
  • V-205736 Windows Server 2019 permissions for the Windows installation directory must conform to minimum requirements. prevents CWE-276
  • V-205746 Windows Server 2019 must only allow Administrators responsible for the member server or standalone or nondomain-joined system to have Administrator rights on the system. prevents CWE-269
Windows Server 2022 (3 rules)
  • V-254252 Windows Server 2022 permissions for program file directories must conform to minimum requirements. prevents CWE-276
  • V-254253 Windows Server 2022 permissions for the Windows installation directory must conform to minimum requirements. prevents CWE-276
  • V-254428 Windows Server 2022 must only allow administrators responsible for the member server or standalone or nondomain-joined system to have Administrator rights on the system. prevents CWE-269

References