CVE-2021-25461
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 · uneditedAn improper length check in APAService prior to SMR Sep-2021 Release 1 results in stack based Buffer Overflow.
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 stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability in Samsung's APAService exists due to improper length validation, allowing an attacker to potentially execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service by overflowing a stack-allocated buffer.
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= 8.1CVSS 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.
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Confirm Android version is 8.1Check the device Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADBAffected if The device is running Android version 8.1 exactly. Versions other than 8.1 are not affected by this specific CVE.
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Verify APAService is presentCheck if the com.samsung.android.apaservice package exists on the device. Run 'pm list packages | grep apa' via ADB or inspect installed packages in Settings > AppsAffected if APAService is installed and running on the device. If the package is not present, the device is not affected.
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Check Samsung security patch levelCheck the Samsung Security Maintenance Release (SMR) date in Settings > About Phone > Software information > Security patch level, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.sem' via ADBAffected if The security patch level is earlier than September 2021 Release 1. Devices with patch levels at or after SMR September 2021 Release 1 are patched.
A device is affected if it runs Android 8.1, has the Samsung APAService package installed, and has a Samsung security patch level earlier than the September 2021 Release 1.
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.
dbcve · scopedApply the Samsung SMR September 2021 Release 1 security update or later to patch the improper length check vulnerability in APAService.
SMR Sep-2021 Release 1 or later (Samsung Maintenance Release)
- Check current Android security patch level on the device (Settings > About Phone > Security patch level)
- Verify if the device is running Android 8.1
- Check for and install any available system updates through Settings > Software Update > Download and install
- Ensure the device updates to SMR Sep-2021 Release 1 or later which contains the fix for this vulnerability
- After updating, verify the security patch level reflects September 2021 or later
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 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 $3,808.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-25461 — 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-2021-25461 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
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