CVE-2021-0407
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 clk driver, there is a possible out of bounds write due to an incorrect bounds check. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with System execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Patch ID: ALPS05479659; Issue ID: ALPS05479659.
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 confidenceA clock driver (clk) contains an out-of-bounds write vulnerability caused by an incorrect bounds check. This kernel-level flaw allows a local attacker with System execution privileges to potentially escalate privileges further. The vulnerability exists in the driver code and requires patches to the affected kernel component.
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= 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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.
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Check Android versionGo to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shellAffected if The version is exactly 10.0 or 11.0 (the affected versions listed)
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Check Android security patch levelGo to Settings > About Phone > Security patch level, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADB shellAffected if The security patch level is earlier than the vendor patch date (ALPS05479659), indicating the fix is not yet applied
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Verify clock driver presenceCheck /sys/kernel/debug/clk/ for clock driver entries, or review kernel boot logs (dmesg | grep -i clk) for clock driver initialization messagesAffected if The clock driver module is loaded and the system is on an affected Android version
A device is affected if it runs Android 10.0 or 11.0 and has not received the vendor patch ALPS05479659 that corrects the clock driver bounds checking.
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.
dbcve · scopedApply the vendor patch (ALPS05479659) to update the clock driver with corrected bounds checking. Since this is a kernel driver issue, patching the system firmware/kernel is required; workarounds are not feasible.
Android 12 or later security updates containing the February 2021 Android Security Patch Level
- Apply MediaTek patch ALPS05479659 to the affected device firmware
- Contact your device OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) for the vendor-specific security update containing this fix
- Verify that the device has received the Android Security Patch Level of February 2021 or later
- For custom/embedded systems using MediaTek chipsets, rebuild the kernel with the patched clk driver source code
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,808.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-0407 — 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-2021-0407 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
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- 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
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