AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2021-39649

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-12-15
Patch available
A vendor patch is available. No clean upgrade release — apply the published patch.
See remediation →
69/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click Patch available

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
In regmap_exit of regmap.c, there is a possible use-after-free due to improper locking. This could lead to local escalation of privilege in the kernel with System execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android kernelAndroid ID: A-174049006References: N/A

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
How this class of weakness works · CWE-667

Shared resources are accessed without correct locking, so concurrent operations interleave into inconsistent — and sometimes exploitable — states, or deadlock the service outright. These bugs are subtle and timing-dependent. The fix is correct, consistent locking or atomic operations around every shared resource.

General guidance for the improper locking class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

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
AndroidOperating system
Affected:all versions

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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
Patch available Apply the vendor patch
Vendor patch source.android.com →
Recommended fix High confidence

Android Security Patch Level December 2021 or later (e.g., S1B, S2B, or as published by your device OEM)

  1. Apply the December 2021 Android Security Patch Level (SPL) or later to your Android device. This patch addresses the use-after-free vulnerability in regmap_exit of regmap.c (CVE-2021-39649).
  2. Verify the device has received the security update by checking Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level. The date should be December 2021 or later.
  3. For device manufacturers: Ensure the kernel patch containing the proper locking fix for regmap_exit is included in your kernel build. The fix addresses improper locking that could lead to use-after-free in the regmap subsystem.
Caveat Security patches typically have minimal breaking changes; however, kernel-level fixes may affect regmap users in driver code. Testregmap-dependent hardware drivers after applying the patch.

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

We can apply and verify the patch for your build — typical engagement from $1,600. Get the patch applied

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-2021-39649 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
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