CVE-2021-36986
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 · uneditedThere is a vulnerability of tampering with the kernel in Huawei Smartphone.Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may escalate permissions.
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 · low confidenceKernel tampering vulnerability in Huawei smartphones that allows successful attackers to escalate privileges to root/system level. The vulnerability exists in the kernel component and can be exploited to gain unauthorized elevated access.
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= 10.1.1= 11.0.0= 3.1.1= 4.0.0CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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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Check device EMUI or Magic UI versionGo to Settings > About Phone > Version. Look for the EMUI number (e.g., EMUI 10.1.1) or Magic UI number (e.g., Magic UI 3.1.1).Affected if The version displayed is exactly 10.1.1 or 11.0.0 (for EMUI) or exactly 3.1.1 or 4.0.0 (for Magic UI).
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Verify security patch levelGo to Settings > About Phone > Version > Build Number or Security Patch Level. Check the date of the last security update.Affected if The security patch level is earlier than August 2021 or the field is empty/unknown, indicating the device has not received the fix.
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Confirm kernel component statusOn the device, use a terminal emulator or ADB shell to run 'uname -a' or check /proc/version to view kernel version details.Affected if The kernel version corresponds to the vulnerable EMUI/Magic UI versions and no kernel-level security updates have been applied.
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Check for root/system unauthorized access indicatorsReview installed applications for unknown or suspicious apps, check for new user accounts or unexpected privilege changes in the device, and monitor for abnormal battery drain or data usage.Affected if Unauthorized root-level access has been successfully obtained, evidenced by unexpected system modifications or the presence of rooting tools.
The device is affected if it runs EMUI 10.1.1, EMUI 11.0.0, Magic UI 3.1.1, or Magic UI 4.0.0 and has not received the August 2021 security patch or later updates.
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 latest Huawei security patch (released August 2021) or update device firmware to the latest available version. Users should avoid installing applications from untrusted sources until the device is patched.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA6.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $10,496.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-36986 — 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-2021-36986 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data