CVE-2021-23244
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 · uneditedColorOS pregrant dangerous permissions to apps which are listed in a whitelist xml named default-grant-permissions.But some apps in whitelist is not installed, attacker can disguise app with the same package name to obtain dangerous permission.
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 confidenceColorOS pre-grants dangerous permissions to apps listed in a whitelist XML file (default-grant-permissions). Since some whitelisted apps are not actually installed on the device, an attacker can install an app with a matching package name to automatically obtain dangerous permissions (like SMS, camera, or location) without user consent.
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= 11CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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.
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Check ColorOS versionGo to Settings > About Phone and verify the ColorOS version is exactly 11Affected if The device is running ColorOS version 11
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Locate the default-grant-permissions whitelist XMLFind the XML file named default-grant-permissions in the system partition (typically in /system/etc/permissions or similar system directories)Affected if The default-grant-permissions XML file exists on the device
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List apps pre-granted dangerous permissionsParse the XML file and identify all package names that are granted dangerous permissions such as SMS, camera, location, or microphoneAffected if Any package names in the whitelist are pre-granted dangerous permissions
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Compare whitelist to installed appsUse the package manager (pm list packages) or check /data/data to determine which whitelisted apps are actually installed on the deviceAffected if The whitelist contains package names that are NOT installed on the device
The device is affected if running ColorOS 11 and the default-grant-permissions whitelist contains package names for uninstalled apps that are pre-granted dangerous 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 dataRemove unused entries from the default-grant-permissions whitelist XML file and ensure only legitimately installed system apps are pre-granted dangerous permissions.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,312.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-23244 — 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-2021-23244 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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- 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
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