AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2021-1010

MEDIUM · 5.5 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 →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 getSigningKeySet of PackageManagerService.java, there is a missing permission check. This could lead to local information disclosure with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android-12Android ID: A-189857801

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 the getSigningKeySet function of PackageManagerService.java in Android 12, a permission check is missing. This allows a local attacker to potentially retrieve signing key set information without any elevated privileges or user interaction, leading to local information disclosure.

MitigationApply the Android security patch level for March 2022 or later to address the missing permission check in PackageManagerService. For enterprise deployments, ensure devices receive timely system updates and consider using MDM policies to enforce patch compliance.

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:= 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
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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. Confirm Android version is 12.0
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version and verify the version number is exactly 12.0
    Affected if Android version shows 12.0 (the only affected version per the CVE)
  2. Check Security Patch Level
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Security patch level and note the date. Compare against March 2022.
    Affected if Security patch level is earlier than March 2022 (vulnerable) or unavailable (assumed vulnerable)
  3. Verify PackageManagerService accessibility
    This vulnerability is in the getSigningKeySet function of PackageManagerService. On affected devices, any local app could potentially call PackageManager.getPackageInfo with GET_SIGNING_KEYSETS flag without permission check to retrieve signing key information.
    Affected if Running Android 12.0 with security patch level before March 2022 allows the unprivileged access to signing key set data

Device is affected if it runs Android 12.0 and has a Security Patch Level earlier than March 2022, as the missing permission check in PackageManagerService.getSigningKeySet allows local information disclosure.

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 for March 2022 or later to address the missing permission check in PackageManagerService. For enterprise deployments, ensure devices receive timely system updates and consider using MDM policies to enforce patch compliance.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android 12L (Android 12.1) or January 2022 security patch for Android 12.0

  1. Upgrade to Android 12L (Android 12.1) or later, which contains the fix for CVE-2021-1010
  2. Alternatively, apply the January 2022 Android security patch update (patch level 2022-01-01) to Android 12.0
  3. Verify the fix by checking Settings > About Phone > Android version shows the updated patch level
Caveat Upgrading to Android 12L may introduce UI changes and behavioral differences from Android 12.0; review release notes for compatibility

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $880
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2021-1010 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