Published August 7, 2023
The Wear OS Security Bulletin contains details of security vulnerabilities affecting the Wear OS platform. The full Wear OS update comprises the security patch level of 2023-08-05 or later from the August 2023 Android Security Bulletin in addition to all issues in this bulletin.
We encourage all customers to accept these updates to their devices.
The most severe of these issues is a high security vulnerability in the Framework component that could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. The severity assessment is based on the effect that exploiting the vulnerability would possibly have on an affected device, assuming the platform and service mitigations are turned off for development purposes or if successfully bypassed.
Announcements
- In addition to the security vulnerabilities described in the August 2023 Android Security Bulletin, the August 2023 Wear OS Security Bulletin also contains patches specifically for Wear OS vulnerabilities as described below.
2023-08-01 security patch level vulnerability details
In the sections below, we provide details for each of the security vulnerabilities that apply to the 2023-08-01 patch level. Vulnerabilities are grouped under the component they affect. Issues are described in the tables below and include CVE ID, associated references, type of vulnerability, severity, and updated AOSP versions (where applicable). When available, we link the public change that addressed the issue to the bug ID, like the AOSP change list. When multiple changes relate to a single bug, additional references are linked to numbers following the bug ID. Devices with Android 10 and later may receive security updates as well as Google Play system updates.
Framework
The vulnerability in this section could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.| CVE | References | Type | Severity | Updated AOSP versions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2023-21229 | A-265431830 | EoP | High | 11, 13 |
Platform
The vulnerability in this section could lead to local information disclosure with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.| CVE | References | Type | Severity | Updated AOSP versions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2023-21230 | A-191680486 | ID | High | 11, 13 |
System
The most severe vulnerability in this section could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.| CVE | References | Type | Severity | Updated AOSP versions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2023-21231 | A-187307530 | EoP | High | 13 |
| CVE-2023-21234 | A-260859883 | EoP | High | 11, 13 |
| CVE-2023-21235 | A-133761964 | EoP | High | 11, 13 |
| CVE-2023-35689 | A-265474852 | EoP | High | 11, 13 |
| CVE-2023-21232 | A-267251033 | ID | High | 11, 13 |
| CVE-2023-21233 | A-261073851 | ID | High | 11 |
Common questions and answers
This section answers common questions that may occur after reading this bulletin.
1. How do I determine if my device is updated to address these issues?
To learn how to check a device's security patch level, read the instructions on the Google device update schedule.
- Security patch levels of 2023-08-01 or later address all issues associated with the 2023-08-01 security patch level.
For some devices on Android 10 or later, the Google Play system update will have a date string that matches the 2023-08-01 security patch level. Please see this article for more details on how to install security updates.
2. What do the entries in the Type column mean?
Entries in the Type column of the vulnerability details table reference the classification of the security vulnerability.
| Abbreviation | Definition |
|---|---|
| RCE | Remote code execution |
| EoP | Elevation of privilege |
| ID | Information disclosure |
| DoS | Denial of service |
| N/A | Classification not available |
3. What do the entries in the References column mean?
Entries under the References column of the vulnerability details table may contain a prefix identifying the organization to which the reference value belongs.
| Prefix | Reference |
|---|---|
| A- | Android bug ID |
| QC- | Qualcomm reference number |
| M- | MediaTek reference number |
| N- | NVIDIA reference number |
| B- | Broadcom reference number |
| U- | UNISOC reference number |
Versions
| Version | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | August 7, 2023 | Bulletin Published |