CVE-2021-25511
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 validation vulnerability in FilterProvider prior to SMR Dec-2021 Release 1 allows attackers to write arbitrary files via a path traversal vulnerability.
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 confidenceImproper validation in FilterProvider allows path traversal, enabling attackers to write arbitrary files to the filesystem. This high-severity vulnerability could lead to remote code execution or complete system compromise.
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= 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
- 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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Identify the Android versionGo to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shellAffected if The version is exactly 9.0, 10.0, or 11.0
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Confirm the device manufacturerCheck Settings > About Phone > Manufacturer or Model, or run 'getprop ro.product.manufacturer' via ADB shellAffected if The device is Samsung (since SMR Dec-2021 Release 1 is Samsung-specific)
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Check the Samsung SMR patch levelRun 'getprop ro.build.version.sem' or 'getprop ro.security.vendor.pv' via ADB shell to view the Samsung Maintenance Release versionAffected if The SMR patch level is earlier than December 2021 (SMR Dec-2021 Release 1 or later contains the fix)
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Identify if FilterProvider is accessibleCheck if the com.samsung.android.filterprovider package exists on the device using 'pm list packages | grep filterprovider' via ADB shellAffected if The FilterProvider package is installed and the device meets the affected version criteria in steps 1-3
The device is affected if it is running Android 9.0, 10.0, or 11.0 on a Samsung device with an SMR patch level earlier than December 2021 and has the FilterProvider component present.
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 · scopedUpdate to SMR Dec-2021 Release 1 or later. Implement strict path validation and sanitization on file write operations to prevent traversal sequences.
SMR Dec-2021 Release 1 or later
- Check the current Android security patch level on the device in Settings > About Phone > Software Information > Security patch level
- Navigate to Settings > Software Update and tap 'Download and install' to check for available updates
- Apply the Samsung security update for December 2021 (SMR Dec-2021 Release 1) or later to remediate the path traversal vulnerability in FilterProvider
- Verify the security patch level has been updated to December 2021 or later after the update completes
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-25511 — 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-2021-25511 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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