Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian
CVE-2021-0308
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 · uneditedIn ReadLogicalParts of basicmbr.cc, there is a possible out of bounds write due to a missing bounds check. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Product: Android; Versions: Android-8.1, Android-9, Android-10, Android-11, Android-8.0; Android ID: A-158063095.
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 confidenceA missing bounds check in the ReadLogicalParts function in basicmbr.cc (which handles MBR partition parsing in Android's bootloader) allows an out-of-bounds write. This memory corruption in the partition reading code can be exploited for local privilege escalation without requiring additional execution privileges.
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
Debian LinuxOperating system
= 9.0= 8.0= 8.1= 9.0= 10.0= 11.0CVSS 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
- Physical
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:P/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Identify the Android versionOn the Android device, go to Settings > About Phone > Android version. Record the exact version number shown.Affected if The version is 8.0, 8.1, 9.0, 10.0, or 11.0
-
Identify the Debian Linux versionRun 'cat /etc/debian_version' or 'lsb_release -a' in the terminal to determine if the system is Debian 9.0.Affected if The system is Debian version 9.0
-
Verify if the bootloader uses MBR partition parsingExamine the bootloader configuration or binary. On Android, this typically requires root access and examining the bootloader partition or the compiled boot.img. On Debian, check if the system boots from MBR-partitioned disks using 'fdisk -l' or 'parted /dev/sda print'.Affected if The bootloader reads or parses MBR partition tables on the device or system
-
Check for security patch levelOn Android, go to Settings > About Phone > Security patch level. Record the date of the installed security update.Affected if The security patch level is earlier than January 2021 or the device has not received the January 2021 Android Security Bulletin update
The environment is affected if it runs Android 8.0 through 11.0 or Debian 9.0, uses MBR partition parsing in the bootloader, and has not received the January 2021 security updates.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataApply the relevant Android security patch (January 2021 bulletin). There is no user-facing workaround; this is a platform-level vulnerability requiring a system update from the device OEM.
Fix this in Debian Linux
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing10.0 h
- Review / QA6.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $10,144.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-0308 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-0308 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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