AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2021-0922

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-12-15
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 enforceCrossUserOrProfilePermission of PackageManagerService.java, there is a possible bypass of INTERACT_ACROSS_PROFILES permission due to a missing permission check. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android-11Android ID: A-195630721

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 Android's PackageManagerService, the enforceCrossUserOrProfilePermission function lacks a proper permission check for INTERACT_ACROSS_PROFILES. This allows unprivileged apps to bypass the permission requirement and perform cross-profile operations, leading to local privilege escalation without requiring user interaction or additional execution privileges.

MitigationApply the Android security patch for CVE-2021-0922 (November 2021 SMR) to affected Android-11 devices. Organizations should ensure enterprise-managed devices receive system updates and verify the patch level meets or exceeds the November 2021 security bulletin.

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:= 11.0

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. Check Android version
    Navigate to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shell
    Affected if Version reports as 11.0 exactly
  2. Check security patch level
    Navigate to Settings > About Phone > Security patch level, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADB shell
    Affected if Patch level date is earlier than 2021-11-01
  3. Confirm affected component presence
    Verify the device runs Android 11 (API level 30) with PackageManagerService handling cross-profile operations
    Affected if Device is Android 11.0 without the November 2021 SMR applied

Device is affected if running Android 11.0 and the security patch level predates the November 2021 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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the Android security patch for CVE-2021-0922 (November 2021 SMR) to affected Android-11 devices. Organizations should ensure enterprise-managed devices receive system updates and verify the patch level meets or exceeds the November 2021 security bulletin.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android 12 (any variant) or Android 11 with January 2022 security patch level

  1. 1. Verify current Android version by going to Settings > About Phone > Android version
  2. 2. If running Android 11, check for available system updates: Settings > System > System Update > Check for updates
  3. 3. Install the January 2022 security patch level (2022-01-01) or later if available for your device
  4. 4. If the security update is not available for your device, upgrade to Android 12 or later which contains the permanent fix
  5. 5. After updating, verify the fix by confirming INTERACT_ACROSS_PROFILES permission is properly enforced
Caveat Android 12 introduces UI changes and may drop support for some older apps; verify app compatibility before upgrading

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,600
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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-2021-0922 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