dbcve.org
EmuiOperating system · Huawei

CVE-2021-36996

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-10-28
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
There is an Improper verification vulnerability in Huawei Smartphone.Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may cause transmission of certain virtual information.

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 confidence

This is an improper verification vulnerability (CWE-20) in Huawei smartphones where certain virtual information is transmitted without adequate validation. The vulnerability allows transmission of 'certain virtual information' due to missing or insufficient verification checks, potentially enabling unauthorized data exfiltration.

MitigationApply available Huawei security patches for affected smartphone models. Users should ensure their devices are running the latest firmware version. As a general precaution, only install applications from trusted sources and review app permissions.

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
EmuiOperating system
Affected:= 11.0.0
Magic UiOperating system
Affected:= 4.0.0

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/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. Check installed EMUI version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Version on the Huawei device, or view the build number in Settings > System > About Phone
    Affected if The version listed is exactly 11.0.0
  2. Check installed Magic UI version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Version on the Huawei device, or view the build number in Settings > System > About Phone
    Affected if The version listed is exactly 4.0.0
  3. Verify the device is a Huawei smartphone
    Confirm the device manufacturer is Huawei and the device runs EMUI or Magic UI as the operating system
    Affected if The device is a Huawei smartphone running the affected EMUI 11.0.0 or Magic UI 4.0.0 versions

The user is affected if their Huawei smartphone runs EMUI version 11.0.0 or Magic UI version 4.0.0 specifically.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply available Huawei security patches for affected smartphone models. Users should ensure their devices are running the latest firmware version. As a general precaution, only install applications from trusted sources and review app permissions.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest available EMUI/Magic UI version (newer than 11.0.0/4.0.0)

  1. 1. Go to Settings on the Huawei smartphone
  2. 2. Navigate to System & Updates or System
  3. 3. Select Software Update
  4. 4. Check for updates and download the latest available EMUI/Magic UI version
  5. 5. Install the update and restart the device
Caveat Standard update risks apply - ensure device is charged and backed up before updating

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Emui Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2021-36996 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