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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2021-39763

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 Settings, there is a possible way to make the user enable WiFi due to improper input validation. 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-199176115

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

Improper input validation in the Android-12L Settings application allows a local attacker to trigger WiFi enablement without proper user authorization, leading to local privilege escalation. No user interaction or additional execution privileges are required for exploitation.

MitigationApply the Google security patch for Android-12L (Android ID A-199176115) to address the input validation vulnerability in the Settings application. Verify that the Settings app now properly validates inputs before triggering WiFi state changes.

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
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version. Confirm the version displayed is exactly 12.1 (Android-12L).
    Affected if Android version shows 12.1, indicating the affected release version.
  2. Identify Settings app version
    Open Settings > Apps > See all apps > Settings (or Settings app). Check the version number under App info or App details. Alternatively, use adb shell dumpsys package com.android.settings to retrieve the version info.
    Affected if Settings app version corresponds to the Android-12L build that contains the vulnerable input validation logic.
  3. Confirm WiFi control behavior
    Observe whether the Settings app allows WiFi toggling or related network controls without requesting authentication, confirmation, or proper authorization checks. Test by attempting to enable/disable WiFi through Settings or the quick panel.
    Affected if WiFi can be toggled or configured without proper user authorization, indicating the input validation flaw is present.

You are affected if your device runs Android 12.1 (Android-12L) and the Settings app has not received the security patch for Android ID A-199176115, allowing unauthorized WiFi state changes.

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 Google security patch for Android-12L (Android ID A-199176115) to address the input validation vulnerability in the Settings application. Verify that the Settings app now properly validates inputs before triggering WiFi state changes.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android 12L with January 2022 security patch level (SPL) or later

  1. 1. Go to Settings on the Android device
  2. 2. Navigate to System > Security & privacy > Security update (or Settings > About phone > Security update on some devices)
  3. 3. Check the current Android security patch level
  4. 4. If the security patch level is earlier than January 2022, initiate a system update to install the latest available Android security update
  5. 5. Verify the security patch level shows January 2022 or later after the update completes

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,900
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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-2021-39763 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