CVE-2021-37088
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 Path Traversal vulnerability in Huawei Smartphone.Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may lead to attackers can write any content to any file.
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 confidenceA path traversal vulnerability exists in Huawei Smartphone that allows attackers to write arbitrary content to any file on the device filesystem. By manipulating file path sequences in requests, an attacker can escape the intended directory and write to sensitive system locations.
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
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Check HarmonyOS versionNavigate to Settings > About Phone > Version on the Huawei smartphone to view the installed HarmonyOS versionAffected if The displayed HarmonyOS version is any release below 2.0 (such as 1.5.x or 1.x series)
-
Confirm firmware build numberRecord the full build number shown in the version screen (for example, 2.0.0.xxx format)Affected if The build number indicates a version lower than 2.0.0 for the specific device model
-
Review security patch levelCheck Settings > About Phone > Security patch or system update history for the installed security patch dateAffected if The security patches are not applied or are dated before Huawei's patch release for CVE-2021-37088
If the HarmonyOS version is below 2.0, the device is affected by this path traversal vulnerability that allows writing arbitrary content to sensitive filesystem locations
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 Huawei security patches/firmware updates for affected smartphone models. Verify that file input operations properly validate and sanitize path components to prevent traversal sequences.
HarmonyOS 2.0 or later
- Identify the current HarmonyOS version on the affected Huawei smartphone by navigating to Settings > About Phone > Version
- Check if the current version is below HarmonyOS 2.0
- If below 2.0, initiate a system update by going to Settings > System & Updates > Software Update
- Ensure the device is connected to Wi-Fi and has sufficient battery (above 50%) before updating
- Follow the on-screen prompts to download and install the HarmonyOS 2.0 update
- After update completion, verify the new version by checking Settings > About Phone > Version
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,600.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-37088 — 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-2021-37088 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