CVE-2021-0534
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 permission declarations of DeviceAdminReceiver.java, there is a possible lack of broadcast protection due to an insecure default value. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android-11Android ID: A-170639543
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 confidenceIn Android's DeviceAdminReceiver.java, the permission declarations contain an insecure default value that fails to properly protect broadcasts. This allows a local attacker to potentially intercept or manipulate device administration broadcasts without proper authorization, achieving local privilege escalation.
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= 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
- 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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Identify the Android versionCheck the device settings under Settings > About Phone > Android version, or use the command 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB or terminal emulatorAffected if The version displays exactly 11.0 (Android 11)
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Verify the Android security patch levelCheck Settings > About Phone > Security patch level, or use 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADBAffected if The security patch level is earlier than the March 2021 patch (the fix was included in the March 2021 Android security update)
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Confirm DeviceAdmin API usageReview your application's code or the device's admin policies. Check if any app is registered as a device admin via the DeviceAdminReceiver component in AndroidManifest.xmlAffected if Any device admin policy is active on the device - the vulnerability affects how broadcasts to DeviceAdminReceiver are protected
The environment is affected if the device runs exactly Android 11.0 and has not received the March 2021 Android security patch or later.
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 is fixed in Android system updates. Organizations should ensure devices receive the latest Android-11 security patches. Device manufacturers and OEMs must apply the AOSP fix to their Android builds.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing16.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-0534 — 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-2021-0534 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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