CVE-2021-37079
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 Improper Input Validation vulnerability in Huawei Smartphone.Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may lead to delete arbitrary file by system_app permission.
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 confidenceThis is an improper input validation vulnerability in Huawei Smartphone that allows an attacker with system_app permission to delete arbitrary files on the device. The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of user-supplied input in the system_app component, enabling path traversal or similar manipulation to target files outside the intended scope.
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< 2.0CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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 HarmonyOS versionNavigate to Settings > About Phone > Version on the Huawei device and verify the installed HarmonyOS version numberAffected if The version displayed is earlier than 2.0 (e.g., 1.x, 1.5.x, etc.)
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Identify apps with system_app permissionUse ADB or device management tools to list installed applications and query their granted permissions, specifically looking for system_app permissionAffected if Any third-party or pre-installed application holds the system_app permission
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Review file deletion audit logsCheck system logs or security audit logs for file deletion operations, particularly those targeting files outside expected application directoriesAffected if There are file deletion entries in logs that show paths outside /data/data/<package_name>/ or other intended scopes, indicating potential path traversal exploitation
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Monitor for unexpected file operationsUse device monitoring or security software to observe file system operations in real-time, focusing on delete operations initiated by apps with system_app permissionAffected if Any app with system_app permission performs file deletions on paths not within its designated application storage area
A device is affected if it runs HarmonyOS version earlier than 2.0 AND has any application granted system_app permission that could exploit the input validation flaw to delete arbitrary files.
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 data2.0
Apply the vendor patch released by Huawei for affected smartphone models. Until patches are available, restrict system_app permissions and monitor for suspicious file deletion activity.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing12.0 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 $11,200.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-37079 — 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-2021-37079 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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