CVE-2021-39769
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 Device Policy, there is a possible way to determine whether an app is installed, without query permissions, due to a missing permission check. This could lead to local information disclosure with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android-12LAndroid ID: A-193663287
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 confidenceIn Android's Device Policy component, a missing permission check allows any local app to determine whether other apps are installed on the device without requiring query permissions. This enables unauthenticated local information disclosure about the presence of specific applications.
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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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.
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Check Android versionOpen Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run `adb shell getprop ro.build.version.release`Affected if Version is exactly 12.1 (Android 12L)
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Check security patch levelRun `adb shell getprop ro.build.version.security_patch`Affected if Patch level is earlier than the Google fix for A-193663287 (verify against Google's Android security bulletin for the fixed date)
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Verify Device Policy component is presentRun `adb shell pm list packages | grep -i devicepolicy` to list Device Policy related packagesAffected if Device Policy component is installed and the version check above indicates an unpatched 12.1 system
Your device is affected if it runs Android 12.1 and has a security patch level predating the fix for A-193663287.
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 · scopedApply the Google security patch for Android-12L (A-193663287) which adds proper permission validation to the Device Policy component to prevent unauthorized app installation enumeration.
Apply latest Android Security Patch Level (check Android Security Bulletin for specific release containing fix for A-193663287)
- 1. Check the current Android Security Patch Level on the device by going to Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level
- 2. Ensure the device receives the latest Android security update from the device manufacturer
- 3. Verify the device is updated to a security patch that includes the fix for Android ID A-193663287
- 4. The fix is delivered via the monthly Android Security Bulletin - confirm the installed patch level is higher than the version containing this vulnerability
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-2021-39769 — 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-2021-39769 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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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