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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2021-0673

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-12-17
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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 Audio Aurisys HAL, there is a possible permission bypass due to a missing permission check. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Patch ID: ALPS05977326; Issue ID: ALPS05977326.

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

In the Audio Aurisys HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer), a missing permission check allows local attackers to bypass normal authorization controls and escalate privileges without requiring user interaction or additional execution privileges. The vulnerability stems from an operation that executes without verifying the caller's permissions before performing privileged actions.

MitigationApply vendor patch ALPS05977326 which adds the missing permission check to the Audio Aurisys HAL. Verify the patch in the affected Android build environment.

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
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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. Identify installed Android version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shell
    Affected if Version equals 10.0, 11.0, or 12.0 exactly (exact match required)
  2. Locate Audio Aurisys HAL library
    Search for the aurisys HAL library file in vendor partition using 'find /vendor -name *aurisys*' or 'ls /vendor/lib/hw/' via ADB shell
    Affected if The aurisys HAL library file exists on the device (indicating the component is present)
  3. Check for patched Audio Aurisys HAL
    Run 'getprop ro.build.fingerprint' or 'getprop ro.vendor.build.fingerprint' via ADB shell to view the build identifier; compare against known patched build versions if available
    Affected if Build fingerprint does not contain the vendor patch ALPS05977326 indicator, meaning the permission check is missing

User is affected if their Android version is exactly 10.0, 11.0, or 12.0 AND the Audio Aurisys HAL component is present AND the vendor patch ALPS05977326 has not been applied.

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 ALPS05977326 which adds the missing permission check to the Audio Aurisys HAL. Verify the patch in the affected Android build environment.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Apply Android security update containing MediaTek patch ALPS05977326 (typically included in Android Security Bulletin releases from late 2021 onwards)

  1. Check your device's current Android security patch level in Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level
  2. Verify if the patch ALPS05977326 is included in your device's latest security update by checking the Android Security Bulletin for the relevant month
  3. If the patch is not applied, apply the latest Android security update available from your device manufacturer
  4. If your manufacturer has not released the update containing ALPS05977326, contact your device vendor to request the patch
  5. For enterprise or custom ROM users, obtain the MediaTek firmware update containing ALPS05977326 directly from MediaTek or your board/vendor support
Caveat Patches are generally backward-compatible; however, verify with device manufacturer for any known issues specific to your model

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing10.0 h
  • Review / QA5.0 h
33.0 hours of engineering $5,760
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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-2021-0673 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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