CVE-2021-0467
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 Chromecast bootROM, there is a possible out of bounds write due to an incorrect bounds check. This could lead to local escalation of privilege in the bootloader, with physical USB access, with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android SoCAndroid ID: A-174490700
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 bootROM vulnerability in Chromecast/Android SoC devices allows out-of-bounds write due to incorrect bounds check, enabling local privilege escalation in the bootloader through physical USB access without requiring user interaction or 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 dataall versionsCVSS 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.
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Identify device model and SoCRun 'getprop ro.product.model' and 'getprop ro.hardware' or 'getprop ro.board.platform' to determine the exact hardware platformAffected if The device uses a vulnerable Broadcom or other Android SoC with the affected bootROM (CVE-2021-0467 specifically affects Chromecast SoC hardware)
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Check bootROM version if accessibleInspect bootloader/fastboot mode (power on with volume-down+power) and run 'fastboot getvar all' or check bootloader version stringAffected if BootROM version matches the unpatched vulnerable revision (the vulnerability exists in the read-only bootROM that cannot be updated via software)
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Verify USB debugging stateOn the running device, check Settings > Developer Options > USB Debugging, or run 'getprop debug.sys.usb.config'Affected if USB debugging is enabled, allowing direct USB access to the device's bootloader interface
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Check USB configuration modeRun 'getprop sys.usb.config' to see current USB mode, or observe what happens when a USB cable is connected in bootloader modeAffected if Device enters a mode that exposes the vulnerable USB interface (ADB, fastboot, or proprietary debug mode)
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Confirm physical USB access is possibleVerify the device has exposed USB ports or USB debugging is unlocked (verify with 'adb devices' showing the device in bootloader or debug mode)Affected if An attacker can physically connect to the device's USB port and access the bootloader without authentication
A defender is affected if their Android/Chromecast device uses the vulnerable SoC bootROM and has USB debugging or USB bootloader access exposed, allowing physical USB access to trigger the out-of-bounds write for privilege escalation.
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 dataSince this is a bootROM vulnerability in read-only memory that cannot be patched via software updates, the primary mitigation is restricting physical USB access to the device; complete remediation would require hardware revision of the affected SoC.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-0467 — 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-2021-0467 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
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