CVE-2021-0420
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 memory management driver, there is a possible system crash due to a missing bounds check. This could lead to local denial of service with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Patch ID: ALPS05403499; Issue ID: ALPS05381065.
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 memory management driver can cause a system crash, leading to local denial of service. The vulnerability requires no elevated privileges or user interaction to trigger.
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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 reported version is exactly 10.0 or 11.0
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Verify patch ALPS05403499 appliedCheck system build fingerprint or patch level in Settings > About Phone > Build number, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADB shellAffected if The security patch level is earlier than the date when ALPS05403499 was released, or the patch is not listed in system updates
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Confirm memory management driver is presentCheck for presence of memory management related kernel modules or drivers in /sys or /proc modules, or check kernel config for memory management components via 'cat /proc/config.gz' if availableAffected if The device runs a kernel with the vulnerable memory management driver component and version matches unpatched Android 10.0/11.0 builds
A user is affected if their device runs Android 10.0 or 11.0 and the ALPS05403499 patch has not been applied to the memory management driver.
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 patch ALPS05403499 to address the missing bounds check in the memory management driver.
Android 12 or later with corresponding MediaTek firmware update containing patch ALPS05403499
- 1. Check for system software updates on the affected Android device by navigating to Settings > System > Software Update
- 2. Apply any available system updates from the device manufacturer that include the MediaTek security patch
- 3. Verify the device is running Android 10.0 or 11.0 with the latest security patch level
- 4. If the device manufacturer has discontinued support, consider upgrading to a device with ongoing security update support
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-2021-0420 — 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-2021-0420 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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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