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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2019-2132

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2019-08-20
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

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
It is possible to overlay the VPN dialog by a malicious application. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is needed for exploitation. Product: Android. Versions: Android-7.0 Android-7.1.1 Android-7.1.2 Android-8.0 Android-8.1 Android-9. Android ID: A-130568701.

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 · high confidence

This is a UI overlay vulnerability in Android where a malicious application can draw on top of the system VPN dialog. The attacker exploits Android's overlay permission to place a transparent or misleading view over the legitimate VPN permission prompt, tricking users into granting VPN access or other privileges they did not intend to approve. This is a local privilege escalation requiring user interaction.

MitigationApply the Android security patch (released in the 2019-09-01 bulletin or later) to update the affected Android versions. Users should also revoke the 'Display over other apps' permission from untrusted applications via Settings > Apps > [app] > Display over other apps, and organizations can use MDM policies to block this permission for third-party apps.

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:= 7.0= 7.1.1= 7.1.2= 8.0= 8.1= 9.0

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'adb shell getprop ro.build.version.release'
    Affected if The device runs Android 7.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, 8.1, or 9.0 exactly as listed in the affected versions
  2. Identify apps with overlay permission
    Go to Settings > Apps > [select app] > Display over other apps, or run 'adb shell appops list -k --ui' to list apps with SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW permission granted
    Affected if Any untrusted or unfamiliar application has the 'Display over other apps' (overlay) permission enabled
  3. Review recently granted VPN permissions
    Check Settings > Network & Internet > VPN for active VPN configurations, and review which apps have BIND_VPN_SERVICE capability via 'adb shell pm dump' or a permission manager app
    Affected if A VPN permission was granted to an app that you do not recognize or did not intentionally approve, especially if paired with overlay permission
  4. Check for suspicious overlay-capable apps
    Look in Settings > Apps > Display over other apps for any app that does not require this permission for legitimate function (e.g., chat heads, accessibility tools) or that you did not install
    Affected if An app with overlay permission was installed without your knowledge or from an untrusted source

The device is vulnerable if it runs an affected Android version (7.0-9.0) AND has any untrusted application granted overlay (Display over other apps) permission, particularly if that app has also requested VPN permissions.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the Android security patch (released in the 2019-09-01 bulletin or later) to update the affected Android versions. Users should also revoke the 'Display over other apps' permission from untrusted applications via Settings > Apps > [app] > Display over other apps, and organizations can use MDM policies to block this permission for third-party apps.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
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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-2019-2132 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