CVE-2021-22385
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 component of the Huawei smartphone has a External Control of System or Configuration Setting vulnerability. Local attackers may exploit this vulnerability to cause Kernel Code Execution.
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 confidenceThis is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in a Huawei smartphone component that allows attackers to gain kernel code execution. The vulnerability stems from improper control of system settings or configurations, enabling a local attacker to escalate privileges to kernel level and execute arbitrary code.
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= 10.1.0= 10.1.1= 11.0.0= 3.1.0= 3.1.1= 4.0.0CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Check installed EMUI versionNavigate to Settings > About Phone > Version on the Huawei device, or use ADB command: getprop ro.build.version.emuiAffected if The displayed version is 10.1.0, 10.1.1, or 11.0.0
-
Check installed Magic UI versionNavigate to Settings > About Phone > Version on the Huawei device, or use ADB command: getprop ro.build.version.magicAffected if The displayed version is 3.1.0, 3.1.1, or 4.0.0
-
Verify system settings configurationReview the device system settings under Settings > System > Security & Privacy (or similar) for any non-standard or modified configuration files related to privilege escalation controlsAffected if Settings show modifications that allow unrestricted privilege escalation or kernel-level access changes
-
Check for vulnerable component presenceUse ADB to list system services and check for the component responsible for system settings control: dumpsys -l | grep -i settingsAffected if The vulnerable component exists and handles system configuration without proper privilege controls
The device is affected if it runs EMUI 10.1.0, 10.1.1, or 11.0.0, or Magic UI 3.1.0, 3.1.1, or 4.0.0, and contains the improperly secured system configuration component.
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 dataApply vendor-supplied firmware/security updates from Huawei for affected smartphone models. Users should check device settings for system updates and ensure prompt patching.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,152.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-22385 — 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-2021-22385 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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