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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2021-0881

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 PVRSRVBridgeRGXKickCDM 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-270396350

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

Integer overflow vulnerability in the PowerVR kernel driver (PVRSRVBridgeRGXKickCDM function) due to a missing size check on user-controlled input. The overflow enables out-of-bounds heap memory access, allowing local privilege escalation to kernel privileges without user interaction or additional execution privileges.

MitigationThis is a kernel-level vulnerability requiring a patch from the SoC vendor (PowerVR/Imagination Technologies) to add proper size validation before the arithmetic operation in PVRSRVBridgeRGXKickCDM. Android devices with affected SoCs should apply vendor security updates when available.

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 /sys/class/misc/mali0/device or /sys/class/kgdb or look for 'imagination' or 'pvrsrv' in /proc/modules or kernel cmdline
    Affected if Device uses a PowerVR GPU (Mali GPU devices are NOT affected - this is specifically for PowerVR/Imagination Technologies GPUs)
  2. Verify Android security patch level
    Check Settings > About Phone > Android security patch level or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch'
    Affected if Security patch level is earlier than the vendor-provided fix date (this is a kernel-level flaw requiring SoC/vendor-specific patching)
  3. Check for vulnerable driver module
    Run 'lsmod' or check /proc/modules for 'pvrsrvkm' or 'pvrsrbg' modules, and examine dmesg for 'PVRSRVBridgeRGXKickCDM' references
    Affected if PowerVR driver module is loaded and running on the device
  4. Verify kernel version
    Run 'uname -a' or check /proc/version to obtain kernel version, then compare against any vendor-released fixed kernel versions for this CVE
    Affected if Kernel version predates the CVE fix release from the SoC vendor

A device is affected if it has a PowerVR GPU and is running with a kernel/Android security patch level that predates the vendor-provided fix for this integer overflow in PVRSRVBridgeRGXKickCDM.

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

This is a kernel-level vulnerability requiring a patch from the SoC vendor (PowerVR/Imagination Technologies) to add proper size validation before the arithmetic operation in PVRSRVBridgeRGXKickCDM. Android devices with affected SoCs should apply vendor security updates when available.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android 12 (or the latest available Android version for the device) with January 2022 Security Patch Level or later

  1. 1. Check the current Android Security Patch Level on the device (Settings > About Phone > Android Security Patch Level)
  2. 2. Ensure the device has received the January 2022 Android Security Bulletin update or later
  3. 3. If the device does not have the update, check with the device manufacturer (OEM) for an available security update
  4. 4. If no update is available from the OEM, consider upgrading to a device with longer security support or a newer Android version
  5. 5. For devices running custom kernels, ensure the kernel is built with the upstream fix for this vulnerability (CVE-2021-0881)

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 / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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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-2021-0881 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