dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2021-0882

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 PVRSRVBridgeRGXKickSync 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-270395803

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 PVRSRVBridgeRGXKickSync within the PowerVR kernel driver allows an integer overflow to occur, which can lead to out-of-bounds heap memory access. This enables a local attacker to escalate privileges without requiring additional execution privileges or user interaction.

MitigationApply the Android security patch level that addresses this vulnerability (the fix requires a size check to be added in the affected kernel driver function to prevent integer overflow). Contact the SoC vendor or device OEM for the vendor-specific patch.

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 device uses PowerVR GPU
    Check /proc/cpuinfo or dmesg for 'PowerVR' or 'PVRSRV' strings, or check /sys/class/graphics for PowerVR-related entries
    Affected if Device has PowerVR graphics hardware and the kernel driver is loaded
  2. Check Android security patch level
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android security patch level, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via adb shell
    Affected if Security patch level is earlier than the patch date for CVE-2021-0882 (the vulnerability affects all versions, so any unpatched level is affected)
  3. Verify PowerVR kernel driver is loaded
    Run 'lsmod' or check /proc/modules for pvr, ion, or rgx modules, or check dmesg for 'PVRSRV' or 'RGX' initialization messages
    Affected if PowerVR kernel modules are loaded and the device has not received the vendor-specific patch for this CVE
  4. Check kernel logs for the vulnerable function
    Review dmesg or /proc/kmsg for any references to PVRSRVBridgeRGXKickSync, or check if /dev/pvrsrv or /dev/rgx exists
    Affected if The PVRSRVBridgeRGXKickSync function is present in the loaded driver without the size validation fix

The device is affected if it uses PowerVR GPU hardware, has the kernel driver loaded, and is running an Android security patch level that does not include the CVE-2021-0882 fix (contact the device OEM or SoC vendor to confirm patch inclusion).

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 level that addresses this vulnerability (the fix requires a size check to be added in the affected kernel driver function to prevent integer overflow). Contact the SoC vendor or device OEM for the vendor-specific patch.

Recommended fix High confidence

December 2021 Android Security Bulletin (or later monthly patch)

  1. Check your Android device's current security patch level in Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level
  2. If the patch level is earlier than December 2021, apply any available system updates from your device manufacturer
  3. If no update is available, contact your device/SoC manufacturer (especially for devices using PowerVR GPU) to request the CVE-2021-0882 security patch
  4. For enterprise environments, consider restricting app installation sources and disabling user-side debugging interfaces to reduce attack surface until patch is available
Caveat Monthly security updates are cumulative; applying them carries minimal risk but ensure device is charged and backed up before applying

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-2021-0882 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