CVE-2021-22424
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 HarmonyOS has a Kernel Memory Leakage Vulnerability. Local attackers may exploit this vulnerability to cause Kernel Denial of Service.
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 confidenceA kernel memory leakage vulnerability exists in a component of Huawei's HarmonyOS operating system. Local attackers can exploit this memory leak to cause kernel-level Denial of Service, potentially crashing the system or causing significant instability.
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= 2.0CVSS 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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the operating systemCheck if the device runs Huawei HarmonyOS. On the device, go to Settings > About Phone to view the OS name and version.Affected if The device is not running Huawei HarmonyOS, then it is not affected by this CVE.
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Verify the HarmonyOS versionIn Settings > About Phone, locate the version number. Confirm whether it is exactly version 2.0.Affected if The installed HarmonyOS version is 2.0, then this specific CVE applies.
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Determine if local access is possibleAssess whether untrusted local users or applications have access to the device. Check for any unexpected user accounts or unauthorized shell access.Affected if Untrusted local users or applications can execute code on the device, the exploitation precondition is present.
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Monitor for kernel-level instabilityReview system logs (dmesg, logcat) for kernel panics, memory allocation failures, or unusual kernel error messages. Check for abnormal memory consumption patterns.Affected if Kernel crashes, memory leaks, or DoS symptoms appear in logs or system behavior, potential exploitation may have occurred.
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Check for suspicious processesInspect running processes for any unexpected or unauthorized applications that could be attempting local privilege escalation.Affected if Unknown or malicious processes with elevated privileges are running, the device may be compromised.
A device is affected if it runs Huawei HarmonyOS version 2.0 AND has any form of local access available to untrusted users or code.
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 any available HarmonyOS security patches when released. Until a patch is available, minimize local access to devices and monitor for unusual system behavior that could indicate exploitation.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA8.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $12,352.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-22424 — 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-2021-22424 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