dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2021-1037

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-01-14
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
The broadcast that DevicePickerFragment sends when a new device is paired doesn't have any permission checks, so any app can register to listen for it. This lets apps keep track of what devices are paired without requesting BLUETOOTH permissions.Product: AndroidVersions: Android-10 Android-11 Android-12 Android-9Android ID: A-162951906

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

DevicePickerFragment broadcasts device pairing events without permission checks, allowing any app to passively monitor paired Bluetooth devices without requesting BLUETOOTH permissions. This enables unauthorized tracking of device pairing history.

MitigationGoogle has addressed this in the Android Security Bulletin. Users should apply available system updates. App developers should not rely on this broadcast for any functionality.

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/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. Check Android OS version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shell
    Affected if The installed Android version is 9.0, 10.0, 11.0, or 12.0 exactly (these specific versions are affected)
  2. Verify if Bluetooth settings app is present
    Check for the DevicePickerFragment component in the system Bluetooth settings app. On most devices, this is in Settings > Bluetooth > paired devices list
    Affected if The Bluetooth settings interface exists and displays paired device information (the vulnerable broadcast fires when devices are paired or queried)
  3. Confirm system patch level
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Security patch level, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADB shell
    Affected if The security patch level is earlier than the November 2021 Android Security Bulletin patch (the fix was released in November 2021)
  4. Test broadcast observability
    Install a test app that does not declare BLUETOOTH or BLUETOOTH_ADMIN permissions and monitor for android.bluetooth.device.action.PAIRING_REQUEST or similar device picker broadcasts using Logcat or a broadcast receiver
    Affected if The test app can observe Bluetooth device pairing broadcasts without holding any Bluetooth permissions (indicating the vulnerability is present)

A user is affected if running Android 9.0, 10.0, 11.0, or 12.0 with a security patch level before November 2021, as the unpatched DevicePickerFragment allows unauthorized apps to monitor Bluetooth pairing events without permissions.

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

Google has addressed this in the Android Security Bulletin. Users should apply available system updates. App developers should not rely on this broadcast for any functionality.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest Android security patch level (monthly updates from device manufacturers)

  1. Check your Android device for available system updates in Settings > System > Software Update
  2. Install the latest security patch update provided by your device manufacturer
  3. Verify the installed security patch level includes the fix for this vulnerability (Android security bulletin for the relevant month)
Caveat Minimal - security updates are backward compatible; ensure device meets minimum requirements for the update

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,800
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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-2021-1037 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