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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2021-0643

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-10-22
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 getAllSubInfoList of SubscriptionController.java, there is a possible way to retrieve a long term identifier without the correct permissions due to a missing permission check. This could lead to local information disclosure with User execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android-10 Android-11 Android-12Android ID: A-183612370

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 confidence

In the getAllSubInfoList method of SubscriptionController.java, a permission check is missing, allowing an application to retrieve long-term subscriber identifiers (likely IMSI or similar) without proper authorization. This is a local information disclosure vulnerability requiring user execution privileges (the victim must install a malicious app), but no additional user interaction is needed once installed.

MitigationApply the Android security patch (March 2021 or later) from your device vendor. For developers: add appropriate permission enforcement checks in SubscriptionController.java before returning subscriber information.

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= 12.0

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 shell
    Affected if The version is 10.0, 11.0, or 12.0 (exact match to affected versions listed)
  2. Verify security patch level
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Security patch level, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADB shell
    Affected if The patch level is earlier than March 2021 (format typically shows as YYYY-MM-DD)
  3. Confirm subscription permission exposure
    Review installed applications for any untrusted or suspicious apps that may have been installed; check if any app without READ_PHONE_STATE or carrier privileges could access subscriber info
    Affected if A malicious app is installed and the device is missing the March 2021 security patch

A device is likely affected if it runs Android 10.0, 11.0, or 12.0 and has not received the March 2021 security patch or later, allowing a malicious app to retrieve subscriber identifiers without proper authorization.

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 the Android security patch (March 2021 or later) from your device vendor. For developers: add appropriate permission enforcement checks in SubscriptionController.java before returning subscriber information.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android devices with June 2021 Security Patch Level (or later)

  1. 1. Check the current Android security patch level on the device by going to Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level
  2. 2. Ensure the device receives and installs the June 2021 Android Security Update or later
  3. 3. If the device manufacturer has not released an update with the June 2021 patch, consider upgrading to a device that receives regular monthly security updates
  4. 4. For enterprise-managed devices, apply the security update through the MDM/mobile device management system once released by the device OEM
Caveat Some devices from older Android versions may no longer receive monthly security updates; consider hardware upgrade if device is EOL

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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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-2021-0643 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
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