dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2021-0873

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 PVRSRVBridgeRGXKickRS 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-270392711

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

A missing size validation in the PowerVR kernel driver function PVRSRVBridgeRGXKickRS allows an integer overflow to occur when calculating heap allocation sizes. This causes out-of-bounds heap memory access, enabling a local attacker to escalate privileges to kernel level without requiring user interaction.

MitigationApply the vendor-provided security patch for the PowerVR kernel driver that adds proper size validation and integer overflow checks before heap allocation. Update Android system images on affected SoCs to a version containing the patched 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 presence
    Check system for PowerVR graphics hardware using 'lspci | grep -i gpu' on Linux-based systems with PowerVR GPU, or review device specifications for SoC components. On Android, check /proc/pvr/version or similar driver info files.
    Affected if Device contains a PowerVR GPU (common in certain MediaTek, TI OMAP, and other SoCs) and the driver is present
  2. Locate the PowerVR kernel driver
    Search for the driver module or binary containing 'PVRSRVBridgeRGXKickRS' or the PowerVR driver. Common locations include /system/lib/modules/, /vendor/lib/, or check loaded kernel modules with 'lsmod'.
    Affected if The PowerVR kernel driver module is loaded or present on the system
  3. Determine driver version
    Read driver version information from /proc/pvr/version, or use 'modinfo' on the driver module if it's a loadable kernel module. Compare the version against any available patch information.
    Affected if Driver version cannot be determined or exists without the CVE-2021-0873 patch applied
  4. Check Android security patch level
    On Android devices, go to Settings > About Phone > Build Number, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADB to see the installed security patch level.
    Affected if The device is on an Android build without the May 2021 or later security patch that addresses this vulnerability

A device is affected if it contains a PowerVR GPU with the vulnerable driver and has not received the May 2021 or later Android security update that patches CVE-2021-0873.

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-provided security patch for the PowerVR kernel driver that adds proper size validation and integer overflow checks before heap allocation. Update Android system images on affected SoCs to a version containing the patched driver.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest Android security patch level (the fix was included in Android's monthly security updates; check your device manufacturer's latest security update)

  1. Check your Android device's SoC to determine if it uses a PowerVR GPU (common in some MediaTek and older Qualcomm chips)
  2. Update your Android device to the latest available security patch level. For CVE-2021-0873, this was addressed in the Android Security Bulletin. Apply the latest Android system updates from your device manufacturer
Caveat Applying Android security updates typically has minimal risk; some older devices may stop receiving updates if they are beyond the support window

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
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,980
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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-2021-0873 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data