dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2021-0874

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 PVRSRVBridgeDevicememHistorySparseChange 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-270399633

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 check in the PVRSRVBridgeDevicememHistorySparseChange function of the PowerVR kernel driver allows an integer overflow, leading to out-of-bounds heap memory access. This enables local privilege escalation without requiring additional execution privileges or user interaction.

MitigationApply the vendor-provided kernel driver update from the SoC manufacturer (typically MediaTek or Imagination Technologies for PowerVR GPUs) that adds proper size validation before integer arithmetic in the affected function.

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 if the device uses a PowerVR GPU
    Check /proc/cmdline, /sys/class/graphics/ or use 'lshw' / 'lspci' (if available) to enumerate the GPU. On Android, check /vendor/lib/egl/ or /system/lib/hw/ for PowerVR-specific libraries (libGLESv2_impl.powervr, libIMGegl, etc.)
    Affected if The device does not have any PowerVR GPU hardware or driver files, then it is not affected. Only devices with PowerVR GPUs can be vulnerable.
  2. Verify the PowerVR kernel driver module is loaded
    Check /proc/modules or use 'lsmod' to see if a PowerVR-related kernel module is loaded. Look for modules containing 'pvrsrvc', 'pvrsrv', 'imagination', or 'powervr' in the name
    Affected if No PowerVR kernel module is loaded, then the specific vulnerable function (PVRSRVBridgeDevicememHistorySparseChange) is not present in memory and the device is not affected.
  3. Confirm the vulnerable function exists in the driver
    If you can access the kernel symbols or driver binary (often named pvrsrv.ko, pvrsrv_{soc}.ko, or imgpvrsrv.ko in /vendor/lib/modules/ or /lib/modules/), check for the symbol 'PVRSRVBridgeDevicememHistorySparseChange' using 'nm' or strings analysis
    Affected if The function symbol PVRSRVBridgeDevicememHistorySparseChange is not found in the loaded PowerVR driver, the specific vulnerability does not exist.
  4. Check the Android security patch level
    On Android, go to Settings > About Phone > Build Number or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' to see the installed security patch level
    Affected if If the security patch level is after July 2021, the fix is likely included. Devices with patches before July 2021 are more likely to be vulnerable if they use PowerVR.

A device is affected only if it uses PowerVR GPU hardware, has the PowerVR kernel driver loaded with the vulnerable PVRSRVBridgeDevicememHistorySparseChange function present, and lacks the July 2021 or later 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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the vendor-provided kernel driver update from the SoC manufacturer (typically MediaTek or Imagination Technologies for PowerVR GPUs) that adds proper size validation before integer arithmetic in the affected function.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,560
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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-2021-0874 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