dbcve.org
HarmonyosOperating system · Huawei

CVE-2021-22417

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-08-03
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
A component of the HarmonyOS has a Data Processing Errors vulnerability. Local attackers may exploit this vulnerability to cause Kernel Memory Leakage.

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 · low confidence

CVE-2021-22417 is a Data Processing Errors vulnerability in a component of Huawei's HarmonyOS operating system that allows local attackers to exploit improper data handling, resulting in kernel memory leakage. The vulnerability has a medium severity rating (CVSS 5.5) with local attack vector and low attack complexity.

MitigationApply vendor-supplied HarmonyOS security patches for affected versions; given the kernel memory leak impact, prioritize patching on sensitive systems and monitor for anomalous memory consumption as a detective control until patching is feasible.

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
HarmonyosOperating system
Affected:= 2.0

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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

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

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check HarmonyOS version on device
    Navigate to Settings > About Phone on the Huawei device and locate the HarmonyOS version number displayed
    Affected if The version displayed is exactly 2.0
  2. Confirm device model supports HarmonyOS 2.0
    In Settings > About Phone > Version, note the build number and check Huawei's official product compatibility documentation to verify the device model received the HarmonyOS 2.0 update
    Affected if Device model is running the HarmonyOS 2.0 build and was included in the 2.0 rollout
  3. Determine if security patch has been applied
    In Settings > About Phone > Version, check the Security Patch level or check for any available system updates that may contain the CVE-2021-22417 fix
    Affected if The device has not received the vendor-supplied security patch for this vulnerability

The environment is affected if the device runs exactly HarmonyOS 2.0 without the vendor security patch for CVE-2021-22417 applied.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply vendor-supplied HarmonyOS security patches for affected versions; given the kernel memory leak impact, prioritize patching on sensitive systems and monitor for anomalous memory consumption as a detective control until patching is feasible.

Fix this in Harmonyos Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,600
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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-2021-22417 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