AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2021-3022

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-01-05
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click

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 · unedited
An issue was discovered on LG mobile devices with Android OS 10 software. There was no write protection for the MTK protect2 partition. The LG ID is LVE-SMP-200028 (January 2021).

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 confidence

This vulnerability in LG mobile devices running Android OS 10 lacks write protection for the MTK (MediaTek) protect2 partition. The protect2 partition typically stores sensitive security-related data such as DRM keys, secure boot parameters, or firmware components. Without write protection, malicious actors could potentially modify this partition to bypass security mechanisms or escalate privileges.

MitigationLG has released this issue under LVE-SMP-200028. Users should apply vendor-provided security updates as they become available. Enterprise security teams should inventory affected devices and prioritize patching schedules.

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
AndroidOperating system
Affected:= 10.0

CVSS 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
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm device is LG running Android 10
    Check Settings > About Phone to verify the device manufacturer is LG and Android version is 10.0
    Affected if Device is an LG model with Android version 10.0
  2. Identify MediaTek chipset
    Check the processor/chipset information in device settings or through system diagnostic tools
    Affected if Device uses a MediaTek (MTK) processor
  3. Locate protect2 partition
    List disk partitions using fdisk, parted, or similar partition listing utility to identify the protect2 partition
    Affected if protect2 partition exists on the device storage
  4. Check protect2 write protection status
    Inspect block device attributes or mount options for the protect2 partition to determine if write protection is enabled
    Affected if protect2 partition shows no write protection or is writable
  5. Verify security patch level
    Check Settings > About Phone > Software Information for the security patch date
    Affected if Security patch level predates the LVE-SMP-200028 fix (device remains unpatched)

A device is affected if it is an LG phone running Android 10 with a MediaTek chipset where the protect2 partition lacks write protection and the security patch is older than the fix.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

LG has released this issue under LVE-SMP-200028. Users should apply vendor-provided security updates as they become available. Enterprise security teams should inventory affected devices and prioritize patching schedules.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,280
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-3022 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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