dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2021-0872

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-04-19
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 PVRSRVBridgeRGXKickVRDM of the PowerVR kernel driver, a missing size check means there is a possible integer overflow that could allow out-of-bounds heap access. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android SoCAndroid ID: A-270401229

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 PVRSRVBridgeRGXKickVRDM of the PowerVR kernel driver, a missing size check allows an integer overflow that can lead to out-of-bounds heap access. This kernel-level vulnerability enables local privilege escalation without user interaction.

MitigationApply the vendor patch through Android monthly security updates; the fix requires adding proper size validation before the affected heap operation in the PowerVR kernel driver.

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:all versions

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 PowerVR GPU hardware in device
    Check /sys/class/kgsl/kgsl-3d0/gpu_model or review device specifications for 'PowerVR' or 'Imagination Technologies' GPU
    Affected if Device does not use a PowerVR GPU - the vulnerability only affects devices with PowerVR graphics hardware
  2. Verify PowerVR kernel driver is loaded
    Run 'lsmod | grep -i pvr' or check /proc/modules for modules containing 'pvrsrv' or 'rgx'
    Affected if No PowerVR driver modules found - the vulnerable code path is not present if the driver isn't loaded
  3. Check for the vulnerable VRDM function entry point
    Check /sys/module/pvrsrv* or /sys/module/*rgx* for driver information; the vulnerable function is PVRSRVBridgeRGXKickVRDM in the PowerVR kernel driver
    Affected if The PowerVR driver is loaded - the missing size check exists in PVRSRVBridgeRGXKickVRDM when handling VRDM operations
  4. Confirm kernel-level driver access is possible
    The vulnerability is kernel-level; verify the device has kernel debugging or root access to inspect driver internals, as exploitation requires interacting with the PVRSRVBridge interface
    Affected if Device runs the affected Android version with PowerVR driver - the integer overflow in size validation can trigger out-of-bounds heap access during VRDM kick operations

User is affected if the Android device contains PowerVR graphics hardware with the kernel driver loaded, as CVE-2021-0872 is a kernel-level vulnerability in the PowerVR driver affecting all Android versions.

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 through Android monthly security updates; the fix requires adding proper size validation before the affected heap operation in the PowerVR kernel driver.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest Android security patch level (monthly update) containing fix for CVE-2021-0872; for PowerVR kernel driver patch in Android

  1. Check the Android Security Bulletin for the month this vulnerability was fixed (referenced by Android ID A-270401229)
  2. Apply the latest Android security update to the device to obtain the patch for the PowerVR kernel driver integer overflow (CVE-2021-0872)
  3. Verify the device has the latest Android Security Patch Level that includes the fix for this vulnerability
  4. For devices running older Android versions that no longer receive security updates, consider upgrading to a newer Android version or replacing the device
Caveat None expected - security patches are backward compatible

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
  • Testing16.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
36.0 hours of engineering $6,080
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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-2021-0872 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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