AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2021-39759

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-03-30
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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
In libstagefright, there is a possible out of bounds write due to an integer overflow. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android-12LAndroid ID: A-180200830

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 · high confidence

A vulnerability in libstagefright's media processing allows an integer overflow to cause an out-of-bounds write, enabling local privilege escalation without user interaction or additional privileges. The flaw exists in Android-12L's media framework component.

MitigationApply the Android-12L security patch (A-180200830) to address the integer overflow in libstagefright; ensure devices receive timely Google security updates.

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
AndroidOperating system
Affected:= 12.1

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

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

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify Android version is 12.1 (Android-12L)
    Check the Android build number via Settings > About Phone > Build Number, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' in ADB shell
    Affected if The device is running Android version 12.1 or Android-12L specifically (version equals 12.1)
  2. Confirm libstagefright library is present
    Check for the existence of libstagefright.so in /system/lib/ or /system/lib64/ using 'ls -la /system/lib*/libstagefright.so' via ADB
    Affected if The libstagefright library exists on the device (it is present by default in Android-12L)
  3. Verify media framework is enabled
    Confirm Stagefright media server is running via 'ps -A | grep stagefright' in ADB shell, or check that media apps can access the media framework
    Affected if The Stagefright media service is active (this is default behavior in Android-12L)

The device is affected if it runs Android version 12.1 (Android-12L) and contains the libstagefright library, as the integer overflow vulnerability exists in this specific version's media framework component.

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 the Android-12L security patch (A-180200830) to address the integer overflow in libstagefright; ensure devices receive timely Google security updates.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android-12L with January 2022 Security Patch Level or later

  1. Check current Android security patch level: Go to Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level
  2. Ensure the device receives and installs the January 2022 Android Security Update or later
  3. If the device is no longer receiving monthly security updates, consider upgrading to a device that still receives security patches
  4. For enterprise/managed devices, ensure the mobile device management (MDM) policy pushes the latest security updates

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,760
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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-2021-39759 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