dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2021-0679

MEDIUM · 6.7 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 →
69/100
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 apusys, there is a possible memory corruption due to a missing bounds check. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with System execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Patch ID: ALPS05672107; Issue ID: ALPS05687781.

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 bounds check missing in the apusys component (MediaTek APU/AI accelerator subsystem) allows memory corruption leading to local privilege escalation to System level. The vulnerability is exploitable without user interaction and requires System privileges to exploit, but can then escalate from that baseline.

MitigationApply the vendor patch (ALPS05672107) via OEM/firmware update. Since apusys is a firmware component, this requires obtaining a patched firmware image from the device manufacturer and updating the system firmware.

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
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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. Confirm MediaTek SoC in use
    Run 'cat /proc/cpuinfo' or 'getprop ro.hardware' to identify the chipset. Look for MediaTek or MTK identifiers.
    Affected if The device does not use a MediaTek processor - the apusys component only exists on MediaTek SoCs.
  2. Verify Android version is affected
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.sdk' to get the SDK version. Affected versions are SDK 29 (Android 10), SDK 30 (Android 11), and SDK 31 (Android 12).
    Affected if The SDK version is 29, 30, or 31 - these are the affected Android versions listed.
  3. Check if apusys subsystem is present
    Run 'ls -la /dev/apusys*' or check 'getprop' for apusys-related properties (e.g., 'getprop | grep apusys'). The apusys device node should exist.
    Affected if The apusys device node or module is present on the device - the vulnerability resides in this component.
  4. Determine security patch status
    Run 'getprop ro.vendor.security.patch' to check the installed security patch level. The fix is in vendor patch ALPS05672107.
    Affected if The device security patch level is earlier than the vendor release containing ALPS05672107, or the firmware has not been updated by the OEM.

A device is affected if it uses a MediaTek SoC running Android 10, 11, or 12, has the apusys subsystem present, and lacks the vendor firmware patch ALPS05672107.

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 vendor patch (ALPS05672107) via OEM/firmware update. Since apusys is a firmware component, this requires obtaining a patched firmware image from the device manufacturer and updating the system firmware.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence
  1. Check your Android device's security patch level in Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level to confirm current update status
  2. Contact your device manufacturer or carrier to verify that the Mediatek apusys patch (Patch ID: ALPS05672107) has been applied to your device
  3. Apply any available system updates from your device manufacturer that include the Android Security Bulletin containing this CVE (typically the November 2021 or later security patch level)
  4. Verify that the update has been successfully installed by checking the Security Patch Level again after rebooting

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,390
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,224.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-0679 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2021-0679 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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