CVE-2023-21265
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability involves multiple root CA certificates that should be disabled in Android systems. If exploited, it could allow remote attackers to disclose sensitive information without requiring user interaction or additional privileges. This affects Android devices with the vulnerable certificates enabled.
💻 Affected Systems
- Android
📦 What is this software?
Android by Google
Android by Google
Android by Google
Android by Google
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Remote attackers could intercept and decrypt encrypted communications, potentially exposing sensitive data like login credentials, personal information, or corporate data.
Likely Case
Attackers could perform man-in-the-middle attacks to intercept encrypted traffic between vulnerable Android devices and servers, potentially accessing sensitive information.
If Mitigated
With proper certificate management and patching, the risk is eliminated as the vulnerable certificates are disabled.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires the attacker to have a certificate signed by one of the vulnerable root CAs and the ability to intercept network traffic.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: August 2023 Android Security Update
Vendor Advisory: https://source.android.com/security/bulletin/2023-08-01
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Apply the August 2023 Android Security Update. 2. For Android devices, go to Settings > System > System Update. 3. Install available updates. 4. Restart device after update.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Manual Certificate Removal
androidManually disable or remove the vulnerable root CA certificates from the system certificate store.
adb shell settings put global cert_pin_override ""
adb shell settings put global cert_pin_override "*"
Note: These commands may vary by Android version and device.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement network segmentation to isolate vulnerable devices from untrusted networks.
- Use certificate pinning in applications to prevent use of untrusted certificates.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check if device has August 2023 security update installed. Vulnerable if running older version.Check Version:
adb shell getprop ro.build.version.security_patchVerify Fix Applied:
Verify August 2023 security update is installed and check certificate store for disabled vulnerable certificates.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual certificate validation failures
- SSL/TLS handshake anomalies
Network Indicators:
- Unexpected certificate authorities in SSL/TLS connections
- Man-in-the-middle attack patterns
SIEM Query:
ssl.certificate.issuer contains "vulnerable_ca_name" OR ssl.handshake.failure🔗 References
- https://android.googlesource.com/platform/system/ca-certificates/+/6065b4a4c7da9cc9ee01c2f6389575647d2724c4
- https://source.android.com/security/bulletin/2023-08-01
- https://android.googlesource.com/platform/system/ca-certificates/+/6065b4a4c7da9cc9ee01c2f6389575647d2724c4
- https://source.android.com/security/bulletin/2023-08-01
