dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2021-0694

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-04-12
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 setServiceForegroundInnerLocked of ActiveServices.java, there is a possible way for a background application to regain foreground permissions due to insufficient background restrictions. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android-11Android ID: A-183147114

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 Android's ActiveServices.java, the setServiceForegroundInnerLocked method contains insufficient background restrictions that can be exploited by a background application to regain foreground permissions. This allows a local attacker to achieve privilege escalation without requiring any additional execution privileges or user interaction.

MitigationApply the Android security patch for November 2021 (or later) which contains the fix for A-183147114. Organizations should ensure devices are updated to the latest Android security patch level.

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:= 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
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. Check Android version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB
    Affected if Version is exactly 11.0 (Android 11)
  2. Check security patch level
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Security patch level or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADB
    Affected if Patch level is earlier than November 2021 (e.g., October 2021 or earlier)
  3. Verify vulnerable service code exists
    Inspect system framework services jar for setServiceForegroundInnerLocked method in ActiveServices.java - this requires decompiling the framework or checking if device is running a build before the November 2021 patch
    Affected if Device runs Android 11.0 with security patch level before 2021-11

Device is affected if running Android 11.0 with a security patch level earlier than November 2021, as the fix (A-183147114) was included in the November 2021 Android security update.

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 for November 2021 (or later) which contains the fix for A-183147114. Organizations should ensure devices are updated to the latest Android security patch level.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Android 11 with May 2021 security patch level or later; alternatively Android 12+ receives this fix automatically

  1. 1. Check the current Android security patch level on the device by navigating to Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level
  2. 2. Apply any available Android 11 system updates through Settings > System > System Update or Settings > Software Update
  3. 3. Verify the security patch level is at least May 2021 or later, which contains the fix for CVE-2021-0694 (Android ID: A-183147114)
  4. 4. If updates are not available from the device manufacturer, consider upgrading to a newer Android version that includes the fix
Caveat May require device manufacturer support for Android 11; some legacy applications may have compatibility issues when moving to Android 12+

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
21.0 hours of engineering $3,680
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,888.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-0694 — 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-2021-0694 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