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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2014-7921

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-04-13
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
mediaserver in Android 4.0.3 through 5.x before 5.1 allows attackers to gain privileges. NOTE: This is a different vulnerability than CVE-2014-7920.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

mediaserver, a core Android system service responsible for media processing, contains a privilege escalation vulnerability affecting Android 4.0.3 through 5.x before version 5.1. The flaw allows attackers to gain elevated system privileges, potentially enabling complete device compromise. This is a distinct vulnerability from CVE-2014-7920 despite similar naming.

MitigationApply the Android 5.1 (or later) system update to affected devices to patch the mediaserver vulnerability; for enterprise environments, use mobile device management to verify all fleet devices are running patched Android versions.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
AndroidOperating system
Affected:= 4.0.3= 4.0.4= 4.1= 4.1.2= 4.2= 4.2.1= 4.2.2= 4.3= 4.3.1= 4.4= 4.4.1= 4.4.2

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check Android version number
    Open Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run `getprop ro.build.version.release` in a terminal/ADB shell
    Affected if The version displayed is 4.0.3, 4.0.4, 4.1, 4.1.2, 4.2, 4.2.1, 4.2.2, 4.3, 4.3.1, 4.4, 4.4.1, or 4.4.2
  2. Confirm Android SDK level
    Run `getprop ro.build.version.sdk` in a terminal/ADB shell to get the numeric SDK version
    Affected if The SDK level is 15 through 19 (corresponding to Android 4.0.3 through 4.4.4)
  3. Verify mediaserver service is running
    Run `ps | grep mediaserver` or `getprop | grep mediaserver` in a terminal/ADB shell
    Affected if The mediaserver process is running (this is the vulnerable component, and it runs by default on affected versions)
  4. Check if device has received version 5.1 or later update
    Compare the version from step 1 or 2 against the 5.1 baseline; run `getprop ro.build.version.release` to confirm the exact version string
    Affected if The version is below 5.1 (the patch for this vulnerability was released in Android 5.1)

If the Android version is any of 4.0.3 through 4.4.2 (or SDK 15-19) and has not been updated to 5.1 or later, the device is affected by this mediaserver privilege escalation vulnerability.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the Android 5.1 (or later) system update to affected devices to patch the mediaserver vulnerability; for enterprise environments, use mobile device management to verify all fleet devices are running patched Android versions.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android 5.1 (Lollipop) or later

  1. 1. Check current Android version on the affected device via Settings > About Phone > Android version
  2. 2. Back up all important data on the device
  3. 3. Check if the device manufacturer has an official Android 5.1 or later update available
  4. 4. If an OTA update is available, download and install it via Settings > About Phone > System Updates
  5. 5. If no official update is available, consider flashing a custom ROM that supports Android 5.1+ (note: this voids warranty and requires technical expertise)
  6. 6. Alternatively, if the device cannot be updated, consider replacing with a newer device running Android 5.1 or later
Caveat Custom ROM flashing may void warranty and requires unlocking bootloader; some apps may have compatibility issues with newer Android version

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
36.0 hours of engineering $6,400
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2014-7921 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data