AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2021-0434

HIGH · 7.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-12-15
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
73/100
Remediation priority · Elevated

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
In onReceive of BluetoothPermissionRequest.java, there is a possible phishing attack allowing a malicious Bluetooth device to acquire permissions based on insufficient information presented to the user in the consent dialog. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android-10 Android-11 Android-9Android ID: A-167403112

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

In Android's BluetoothPermissionRequest.java, the onReceive method presents a consent dialog with insufficient device information, allowing a malicious Bluetooth device to trick users into granting dangerous permissions they would otherwise decline.

MitigationApply the Android security patch for CVE-2021-0434 (February 2021 bulletin). Users should avoid pairing with untrusted Bluetooth devices until the patch is applied.

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:= 9.0= 10.0= 11.0

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
Low
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 and note the displayed version number
    Affected if The version is exactly 9.0, 10.0, or 11.0
  2. Check security patch level
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Security patch level and note the date of the installed security update
    Affected if The security patch level is earlier than February 2021 or the patch is not installed
  3. Verify patch application status
    Confirm whether the February 2021 Android Security Bulletin patch has been applied to the device
    Affected if The device is running Android 9.0, 10.0, or 11.0 without the CVE-2021-0434 fix from the February 2021 security update

A device is affected if it runs Android 9.0, 10.0, or 11.0 and lacks the February 2021 security patch that addresses this Bluetooth permission dialog 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 security patch for CVE-2021-0434 (February 2021 bulletin). Users should avoid pairing with untrusted Bluetooth devices until the patch is applied.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest available Android security update for your device (Android 12+ recommended for long-term support)

  1. 1. Check your current Android version by going to Settings > About Phone > Android version
  2. 2. Check your security patch level by going to Settings > About Phone > Security patch level
  3. 3. Apply any available system updates through Settings > System > System update
  4. 4. Ensure your device has the latest security patch installed (the vulnerability was addressed in subsequent Android security bulletins)
  5. 5. For devices that cannot receive further updates, consider upgrading to a device that receives regular security patches
  6. 6. As a general security practice, avoid pairing with unknown or untrusted Bluetooth devices
Caveat Upgrading Android major versions may cause compatibility issues with older apps or require factory reset; some device functionality may differ

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2021-0434 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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