CVE-2021-39768
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 · uneditedIn Settings, there is a possible way to add an auto-connect WiFi network without the user's consent due to a missing permission check. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android-12LAndroid ID: A-202017876
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 confidenceThe Android Settings app contains a missing permission check that allows adding auto-connect WiFi networks without user consent. An attacker could exploit this to configure malicious WiFi networks that the device will automatically connect to, achieving local privilege escalation without additional execution privileges.
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= 12.1CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check Android versionNavigate to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' in ADB shellAffected if The device runs Android 12 (or 12.0, 12L) - the affected version listed is = 12.1 which indicates the Android 12 branch
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Check for unexpected WiFi auto-connect networksNavigate to Settings > Network & Internet > WiFi > Saved networks, or inspect '/data/misc/wifi/wpa_supplicant.conf' via ADB with root accessAffected if Any unexpected or unauthorized WiFi networks appear in the saved networks list, indicating possible exploitation
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Verify Settings app package versionRun 'adb shell dumpsys package com.android.settings' and check the versionName or versionCode fieldsAffected if The Settings app version corresponds to the Android 12 build that contains the vulnerable code without the permission fix
A device is affected if it runs Android 12 and an attacker could have added auto-connect WiFi networks without the user's knowledge through the Settings app vulnerability.
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 · scopedThe fix requires adding proper permission validation in the Settings app to ensure user consent is obtained before any WiFi network is added as an auto-connect configuration.
Android 12L with January 2022 security patch level (2022-01-05) or later
- 1. Navigate to Settings on the Android device
- 2. Go to System > Security & privacy > Security update (or Settings > Software Update on some devices)
- 3. Check the Android security patch level date
- 4. If the security patch level is earlier than January 2022, download and install any available system updates
- 5. After updating, verify the security patch level shows January 2022 or later in Settings > About Phone > Android version
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-39768 — 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-2021-39768 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
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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