AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2021-0618

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-10-25
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click

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 · unedited
In 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: ALPS05561394; Issue ID: ALPS05561394.

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 confidence

A heap buffer overflow in the ape extractor allows an out-of-bounds read, leading to local information disclosure without requiring user interaction or additional privileges.

MitigationApply vendor patch ALPS05561394; until patched, restrict access to the ape extractor and avoid processing untrusted ape files.

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
AndroidOperating system
Affected:= 10.0= 11.0

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check Android version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB
    Affected if Version is 10.0 or 11.0 specifically
  2. Verify ape extractor component exists
    Check for the presence of the ape extractor library or binary on the system, typically found in /system/lib/ or /system/bin/ with 'ape' in the name, or run 'find /system -name *ape*' via ADB
    Affected if The ape extractor component is present on the device
  3. Confirm extractor is enabled or accessible
    Check if any application or system service has permissions to invoke the ape extractor, or examine /proc/<pid>/maps for processes loading ape-related libraries
    Affected if The ape extractor is accessible or loaded by any process

Device is affected only if running Android 10.0 or 11.0 AND the ape extractor component is present and accessible on the system.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply vendor patch ALPS05561394; until patched, restrict access to the ape extractor and avoid processing untrusted ape files.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Android 12.0 or later with corresponding security patch level (contact device manufacturer for specific release containing ALPS05561394)

  1. Check the Android Security Bulletin for the month containing patch ALPS05561394 - this fix was released in MediaTek's security patch cycle
  2. Apply the monthly Android security update from your device manufacturer that includes the MediaTek fix ALPS05561394
  3. Alternatively, upgrade Android to a version newer than 11.0 that includes this vulnerability fix in its security patch level
  4. Verify the patch was applied by checking Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level
Caveat Standard Android upgrade considerations - verify app compatibility and back up data before upgrading

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,770
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-0618 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-0618 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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