CVE-2021-21732
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 · uneditedA mobile phone of ZTE is impacted by improper access control vulnerability. Due to improper permission settings, third-party applications can read some files in the proc file system without authorization. Attackers could exploit this vulnerability to obtain sensitive information. This affects Axon 11 5G ZTE/CN_P725A12/P725A12:10/QKQ1.200816.002/20201116.175317:user/release-keys.
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 confidenceThis is a local privilege escalation/information disclosure vulnerability in ZTE Axon 11 5G Android devices. Improper permission settings in the /proc filesystem allow third-party applications to read sensitive system and process information without requiring any special Android permissions. The /proc filesystem contains process lists, kernel parameters, memory maps, and other system internals that should be protected from untrusted apps.
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< 2021.5.1CVSS 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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Confirm device model is ZTE Axon 11 5GGo to Settings > About Phone > Model Number, or run 'getprop ro.product.model' via ADB shell or terminal appAffected if Device model is not ZTE Axon 11 5G - not affected by this specific CVE
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Check installed firmware versionGo to Settings > About Phone > Software Version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' and 'getprop ro.build.display.id' via ADB shell or terminal appAffected if Firmware version is 2021.5.1 or higher - not vulnerable; version shows < 2021.5.1 - likely affected
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Verify /proc permission vulnerability existsUse a file manager or run 'ls -la /proc/' via ADB/terminal to list /proc directory permissions. Check if directories like /proc/1, /proc/self, and other process entries are world-readableAffected if /proc entries are readable by any app without root - vulnerable condition present
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Test access to sensitive /proc entries from untrusted appInstall a basic file explorer app from an untrusted source and attempt to navigate to /proc/1 (init process) or /proc/self (current process) to read cmdline, environ, or status filesAffected if Untrusted app can read process cmdline, environment variables, or status files without special permissions - confirmed vulnerable
Device is affected if it is a ZTE Axon 11 5G with firmware version below 2021.5.1 AND the /proc filesystem exposes sensitive process information to untrusted applications without requiring permissions.
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 data2021.5.1
Apply the vendor-supplied firmware update from ZTE to patch the /proc permission vulnerability. As a temporary workaround, restrict app installations to trusted sources only and revoke unnecessary runtime permissions from installed applications.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-21732 — 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-2021-21732 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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