CVE-2021-0498
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 memory corruption due to a double free. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android SoCAndroid ID: A-183461321
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 double-free vulnerability exists in the Android memory management driver (likely within the Linux kernel or SoC-specific driver). When memory is freed twice, it can be reallocated and manipulated by an attacker, enabling local privilege escalation without requiring additional execution privileges or user interaction.
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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 security patch levelGo to Settings > About Phone > Build Number (or Settings > Security > Security Patch Level on some devices). Note the displayed date (e.g., "February 1, 2021" or "2021-02-01").Affected if The security patch level is earlier than February 2021, as this CVE was disclosed in February 2021 and requires a vendor patch.
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Identify the SoC and memory management driverCheck your device's processor/SoC manufacturer (Qualcomm, MediaTek, Samsung Exynos, etc.) by looking at device specifications or using commands like `cat /proc/cpuinfo` or `getprop ro.hardware` on Android. Research whether your SoC uses a memory management driver susceptible to double-free issues.Affected if The device uses a memory management driver component known to have this specific double-free vulnerability and no patch has been applied.
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Review kernel logs for double-free indicatorsUse `adb shell` to run `dmesg | grep -i "double free"` or check `/sys/kernel/debug/memory` (if accessible) for any double-free error messages that may indicate exploitation attempts.Affected if Double-free error messages appear in kernel logs related to the memory management subsystem.
Your device is likely affected if it runs any version of Android without the February 2021 or later security patch, particularly on SoC platforms that include the vulnerable memory management driver component.
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 dataThis vulnerability requires a vendor-specific patch for the affected Android SoC. Users should apply available security updates from their device manufacturer and Android OS providers as they become available.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-0498 — 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-2021-0498 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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