CVE-2023-21483
📋 TL;DR
An improper access control vulnerability in Samsung Galaxy Store allows local attackers to access protected data through an exported service. This affects Samsung Galaxy devices running Galaxy Store versions prior to 4.5.53.6. The vulnerability requires physical access or local execution on the device.
💻 Affected Systems
- Samsung Galaxy Store
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Local attacker gains unauthorized access to sensitive user data stored by Galaxy Store, potentially including account information, download history, or payment details.
Likely Case
Malicious app or user with physical access extracts limited protected data from Galaxy Store's storage.
If Mitigated
Proper service permissions prevent unauthorized access, limiting data exposure to intended components only.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires understanding of Android service components and local execution capability. No public exploit code available.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 4.5.53.6 and later
Vendor Advisory: https://security.samsungmobile.com/serviceWeb.smsb?year=2023&month=04
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Open Galaxy Store app. 2. Go to Settings. 3. Check for updates. 4. Install version 4.5.53.6 or later. 5. Alternatively, update through Samsung's app store update mechanism.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Galaxy Store
AndroidTemporarily disable Galaxy Store app to prevent exploitation
adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.sec.android.app.samsungapps
Restrict app installations
allPrevent installation of untrusted apps that could exploit this vulnerability
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement device access controls and physical security measures
- Use mobile device management (MDM) to restrict app installations and monitor for suspicious activity
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Galaxy Store version in app settings or via: adb shell dumpsys package com.sec.android.app.samsungapps | grep versionNameCheck Version:
adb shell dumpsys package com.sec.android.app.samsungapps | grep versionNameVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm version is 4.5.53.6 or higher using same command📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unauthorized access attempts to Galaxy Store services in Android logs
- Suspicious package manager or service binding activity
Network Indicators:
- Not applicable - local vulnerability
SIEM Query:
source="android" AND (process="com.sec.android.app.samsungapps" OR package="com.sec.android.app.samsungapps") AND (event="service_access" OR event="permission_violation")