CVE-2021-0616
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 ape extractor, there is a possible out of bounds read due to a heap buffer overflow. This could lead to local information disclosure with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Patch ID: ALPS05561389; Issue ID: ALPS05561389.
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 the APE audio extractor component, a heap buffer overflow allows an out-of-bounds read leading to local information disclosure. No user interaction or elevated privileges are required for exploitation.
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= 10.0= 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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Check Android versionGo to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADBAffected if Version is exactly 10.0 or 11.0 (other versions are not affected)
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Identify APE audio extractor componentCheck if the device has an APE audio decoding capability - this is typically part of the media.extractor or media.codec services in Android's mediaserver/mediaserviceAffected if APE audio extraction capability is present on the device (the component exists in the Android media framework)
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Verify extractor is activeCheck for running media services: 'dumpsys media.extractor' or look for APE-related library files in /system/lib or /vendor/lib (such as libmedia_extractor.so)Affected if The APE extractor component is loaded and accessible on the device
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Confirm no vendor patch appliedCheck system build fingerprint or vendor security patch level via 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' or check for ALPS05561389 in vendor patch notesAffected if The device is on Android 10.0 or 11.0 without the ALPS05561389 vendor patch applied
Device is affected if running Android 10.0 or 11.0 with APE audio extractor capability present and without the ALPS05561389 vendor patch applied.
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 vendor patch ALPS05561389 to fix the heap buffer overflow in the APE extractor and prevent out-of-bounds memory reads.
Android 12 or later; or Android 10/11 with January 2022 Security Patch Level or later
- 1. Navigate to Settings > System > Software Update (or Settings > About Phone > System Update) on the affected Android device
- 2. Check for and install any available Android system updates
- 3. If no update is available from your device manufacturer, consider upgrading to Android 12 (which includes the patched MediaTek component)
- 4. Alternatively, ensure the device has the latest MediaTek firmware update from the device manufacturer
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 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 $3,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-0616 — 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-2021-0616 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