CVE-2023-21235 Auth bypass in Android

What is CVE-2023-21235?

CVE-2023-21235 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Google Android, published on 14 Aug 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

In onCreate of LockSettingsActivity.java, there is a possible way set a new lockscreen PIN without entering the existing PIN due to a permissions bypass. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.

Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-21235?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Google Android.

How do I fix CVE-2023-21235?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-21235 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

Upgrade, and rotate credentials and sessions that may have been exposed. More about Authentication bypass.

Is CVE-2023-21235 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-21235 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Other vulnerabilities in Google Android

• CVE-2026-58704 Google Pixel Improper Authorization Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2025-48543 Android Runtime Use-After-Free Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2023-35674 Android Framework Privilege Escalation Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2025-48595 Android Framework Integer Overflow Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2024-32896 Android Pixel Privilege Escalation Exploited High 8.1

All Google Android vulnerabilities

Sources

• CVE record
• NVD
• OSV
• GitHub advisory
• How this page is made

Also known as GHSA-pc83-jxw2-9qq6.