CVE-2021-20748
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 · uneditedRetty App for Android versions prior to 4.8.13 and Retty App for iOS versions prior to 4.11.14 uses a hard-coded API key for an external service. By exploiting this vulnerability, API key for an external service may be obtained by analyzing data in the app.
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 confidenceThe Retty mobile applications for Android and iOS contain a hard-coded API key embedded directly in the app binary. Attackers can extract this key through static analysis of the application package, potentially gaining unauthorized access to the associated external service.
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< 4.8.13< 4.11.14CVSS 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
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check installed Retty app version on AndroidOpen device Settings > Apps > Retty, or check the app info page on the Play Store if installed, to view the current version numberAffected if Version is below 4.8.13
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Check installed Retty app version on iOSOpen the App Store app, go to your profile, find Retty in purchased apps, or check the app info in Settings to view the current version numberAffected if Version is below 4.11.14
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Compare against affected version thresholdsIf you are a developer or security auditor, use APK analysis tools (e.g., apktool, jadx) for Android or Hopper/IDA for iOS to extract string constants from the binary and compare against version numbers found in the app metadataAffected if The binary version string shows a version lower than 4.8.13 (Android) or 4.11.14 (iOS)
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Verify presence of embedded credentials in app binaryUse a hex editor or strings utility to dump readable strings from the APK/IPA file and search for patterns matching API keys (typically long alphanumeric strings, often prefixed with terms like 'api_key', 'apikey', or found in network request headers)Affected if A hardcoded API key or credential string is found embedded in the app binary alongside version information indicating an affected version
A user is affected if the installed Retty app version is below 4.8.13 on Android or below 4.11.14 on iOS, as these versions contain the hardcoded API key vulnerability.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
From vendor data4.8.134.11.14
Replace the hardcoded API key with proper authentication mechanisms such as OAuth tokens or dynamic API key retrieval through a backend proxy, and release updated app versions.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,960.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-20748 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-20748 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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