CVE-2021-0581
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 wifi driver, there is a possible out of bounds read due to a missing bounds check. This could lead to remote information disclosure to a proximal attacker with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android SoCAndroid ID: A-187231638
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 confidenceIn the Android WiFi driver, an out of bounds read vulnerability exists due to a missing bounds check. This allows a proximal attacker (within WiFi range) to potentially read sensitive information from memory without requiring any user interaction or elevated 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
- Adjacent
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/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 device is running AndroidCheck the device operating system by going to Settings > About Phone (or About Device) and verify the OS is Google Android. This vulnerability affects Android devices only.Affected if The device is running Google Android OS
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Check Android security patch levelGo to Settings > About Phone > Android version or Settings > About Phone > Security patch level. Note the date of the security update.Affected if The security patch level is earlier than the February 2021 patch or is listed as 'older' and the device has not received the specific fix for A-187231638
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Verify WiFi is enabledCheck that WiFi is turned on in Settings > Network & Internet > WiFi (or Settings > WiFi). This vulnerability resides in the WiFi driver and requires WiFi to be active.Affected if WiFi is enabled and the device has not been patched
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Confirm no specific patch appliedCompare your security patch level to the fix date. The fix for A-187231638 was released in the February 2021 Android security bulletin. If your device shows a patch date before February 2021, the vulnerability is likely present.Affected if Security patch level predates the February 2021 Android security update containing the fix
The device is affected if it runs Android with WiFi enabled and has a security patch level earlier than the February 2021 update that addresses CVE-2021-0581.
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.
dbcve · scopedApply the Android security patch level that addresses this vulnerability (A-187231638). Users should ensure their devices receive timely firmware and system updates from their device/SoC manufacturer.
Android Security Patch Level 2021-02-05 or later (Android ID A-187231638)
- Apply the Android security patch level that addresses CVE-2021-0581
- Verify the patch is applied by checking Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level
- For Android SoC manufacturers, ensure the WiFi driver is updated with bounds checking fixes
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-0581 — 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-2021-0581 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