CVE-2021-0524
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 isServiceDistractionOptimized of CarPackageManagerService.java, there is a possible disclosure of installed packages due to side channel information disclosure. This could lead to local information disclosure with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android-12Android ID: A-180418334
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 confidenceThis is a side-channel information disclosure vulnerability in Android's CarPackageManagerService (isServiceDistractionOptimized function) that allows a local attacker to discover which packages are installed on the device without any additional 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 data= 12.0CVSS 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
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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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Verify Android versionCheck the device's Android version in Settings > About Phone > Android version. The affected version is specifically Android 12.0.Affected if The device is running Android 12.0 exactly.
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Check Android security patch levelCheck Settings > About Phone > Security patch level. Compare the installed security patch date against the patch released for CVE-2021-0524 in Android 12.Affected if The security patch level is earlier than the fix for this vulnerability, or if the device is running Android 12 without the corresponding security update.
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Confirm CarPackageManagerService presenceOn Android Automotive OS or Android Auto-enabled devices, verify the CarPackageManagerService is present. This can be checked via adb shell 'dumpsys car_service' or by examining if car-related services are accessible on the device.Affected if The device runs Android Automotive OS or supports Android Auto with the CarPackageManagerService available.
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Check if device receives system updatesVerify whether the device is configured to receive Google system updates. Go to Settings > System > Software update to confirm the device can still receive patches.Affected if The device no longer receives security updates and remains on a vulnerable Android 12 version.
A device is affected if it runs Android 12.0 and has a security patch level earlier than the fix for CVE-2021-0524, particularly on Android Automotive OS or Android Auto implementations containing the CarPackageManagerService.
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 dataApply the Android security patch level for Android 12 that addresses this vulnerability. This is a framework-level issue requiring a system update from the Android platform; no user-level configuration can mitigate it.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation3.0 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-2021-0524 — 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-2021-0524 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