CVE-2021-25443
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 use after free vulnerability in conn_gadget driver prior to SMR AUG-2021 Release 1 allows malicious action by an attacker.
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 use-after-free vulnerability exists in Samsung's conn_gadget (connectivity gadget) driver on devices running software versions prior to the August 2021 Security Maintenance Release (SMR). The vulnerability allows an attacker to potentially execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service by exploiting memory that has been freed but is still being referenced.
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= 8.1= 9.0= 10.0= 11.0CVSS 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
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
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 is a Samsung deviceCheck the device manufacturer information in Settings > About Phone or via `getprop ro.product.manufacturer`Affected if Device is not a Samsung product (this vulnerability is specific to Samsung's conn_gadget driver)
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Check Android versionNavigate to Settings > About Phone > Android version or use `getprop ro.build.version.release`Affected if Android version is 8.1, 9.0, 10.0, or 11.0 specifically (these are the affected versions listed)
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Verify SMR patch levelCheck Settings > About Phone > Software information > Build number or use `getprop ro.build.version.sem`Affected if Build shows a date or SMR version prior to August 2021 (the patched version was released in August 2021 SMR)
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Check if conn_gadget driver is presentLook for the conn_gadget module in /system/lib/modules/ or check loaded kernel modules via `lsmod | grep conn_gadget`Affected if The conn_gadget driver is loaded or present on the device (the use-after-free only occurs when this specific driver is in use)
Device is affected if it is a Samsung device running Android 8.1, 9.0, 10.0, or 11.0 with the conn_gadget driver present and without the August 2021 SMR patch applied.
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 the August 2021 Samsung Security Maintenance Release (SMR) or later to receive the patched conn_gadget driver that properly manages memory allocation and deallocation.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 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 $5,888.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-25443 — 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-2021-25443 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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