CVE-2021-37086
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 Preservation of Permissions vulnerability in Huawei Smartphone.Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may lead to attackers which can isolate and read synchronization files of other applications across the UID sandbox.
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 a permission bypass vulnerability in Huawei smartphones where improper preservation of permissions allows attackers to escape the UID sandbox and read synchronization files from other applications. The issue stems from how the OS handles permission state during synchronization operations, enabling cross-application data leakage.
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
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Check HarmonyOS versionNavigate to Settings > About Phone > Version on the Huawei smartphone and record the installed HarmonyOS version numberAffected if The installed HarmonyOS version is numerically less than 2.0 (for example, 1.5.x, 1.0.x)
-
Identify sync-enabled applicationsReview installed applications that utilize synchronization functionality such as Huawei Cloud backup, email clients with sync capability, or third-party backup/sync apps in Settings > AppsAffected if Synchronization applications are present on the device and HarmonyOS version is below 2.0
The device is affected if it runs any HarmonyOS version below 2.0, as the permission bypass vulnerability exists in the older versions of the operating system.
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 · scoped2.0
Apply vendor security patches from Huawei; users should update affected smartphones to the latest firmware version that addresses this vulnerability.
HarmonyOS 2.0 or later
- 1. Check the current HarmonyOS version on the device by navigating to Settings > About Phone > Version
- 2. If the version is below 2.0, initiate a system update by going to Settings > System & Updates > Software Update
- 3. Ensure the device is connected to Wi-Fi and has sufficient battery (above 50%) before updating
- 4. Download and install the HarmonyOS 2.0 or later update
- 5. After the update completes, verify the new version by checking Settings > About Phone > Version
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation24.0 h
- Testing16.0 h
- Review / QA8.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $15,616.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-37086 — 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-2021-37086 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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