dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2021-0926

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 onCreate of NfcImportVCardActivity.java, there is a possible way to add a contact without user's consent 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-10 Android-11 Android-12 Android-9Android ID: A-191053931

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 · moderate confidence

In onCreate of NfcImportVCardActivity.java, a missing permission check allows an attacker to add contacts without user consent, leading to local privilege escalation. The vulnerability exists because the activity does not verify user authorization before importing vCard contact data via NFC.

MitigationAdd proper permission checks in the onCreate method of NfcImportVCardActivity.java to verify user consent before allowing contact imports. The fix should validate permissions or user interaction requirements before executing contact addition logic.

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:= 9.0= 10.0= 11.0= 12.0

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
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' in ADB shell
    Affected if Version equals 9.0, 10.0, 11.0, or 12.0
  2. Verify NFC is enabled
    Check Settings > Connections > NFC or run 'nfc get-state' in ADB shell
    Affected if NFC is turned on and the device supports NFC communication
  3. Confirm NfcImportVCardActivity is present
    Check if the package com.android.nfc contains NfcImportVCardActivity by inspecting the APK or using a package manager query
    Affected if The activity exists and is exported without proper permission checks
  4. Check contact import behavior without user interaction
    Attempt to beam a vCard file via NFC to the device and observe if contacts are imported automatically without permission prompts
    Affected if Contacts are added silently without any user consent dialog appearing

The device is affected if it runs Android 9.0-12.0 with NFC enabled and the NfcImportVCardActivity allows contact imports without prompting for user consent.

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

Add proper permission checks in the onCreate method of NfcImportVCardActivity.java to verify user consent before allowing contact imports. The fix should validate permissions or user interaction requirements before executing contact addition logic.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence
  1. Check your Android device for system updates and ensure you have the latest security patch installed
  2. Go to Settings > Security > Security update (or Settings > System > System Update)
  3. Ensure the security patch level includes the fix for Android ID A-191053931
  4. If no update is available, contact your device manufacturer or carrier for patch availability information
  5. As a workaround, disable NFC in Settings > Connected devices > NFC to prevent exploitation until the patch is available

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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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-2021-0926 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