CVE-2021-0542
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 updateNotification of BeamTransferManager.java, there is a missing permission check. This could lead to local information disclosure of paired Bluetooth addresses with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android-11Android ID: A-168712890
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 missing permission check in the updateNotification function of BeamTransferManager.java allows a local malicious application to access paired Bluetooth addresses without proper authorization. This is a local information disclosure vulnerability requiring user interaction to exploit, affecting Android-11 devices.
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
- 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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Confirm Android version is 11.0Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADBAffected if Version is exactly 11.0 (the affected range is = 11.0, not a range)
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Verify NFC/Beam functionality is enabledCheck Settings > Network & Internet > NFC, or run 'settings get secure nfc_enabled' via ADBAffected if NFC/Beam is turned on - this is the component containing the vulnerable BeamTransferManager.java
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Confirm Bluetooth is active with paired devicesCheck Settings > Bluetooth for paired devices, or run 'bluetoothctl paired-devices' via ADBAffected if Bluetooth is enabled and has paired devices - the vulnerability exposes paired Bluetooth addresses
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Inspect app permissions for Bluetooth accessReview installed apps for any suspicious applications with BLUETOOTH or BLUETOOTH_ADMIN permissions granted via Settings > Apps > PermissionsAffected if A local malicious app has Bluetooth permissions - exploitation requires a locally installed app to trigger the vulnerable updateNotification function
A device is affected if it runs exactly Android 11.0 with NFC/Beam enabled and Bluetooth paired devices present, allowing any locally installed app with Bluetooth permissions to access paired Bluetooth addresses without proper authorization.
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 dataImplement proper permission verification in the updateNotification method to ensure only authorized system components can access paired Bluetooth device information. Apply Android's BLUETOOTH permission model checks before exposing Bluetooth addresses.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,504.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-0542 — 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-2021-0542 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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