AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2021-39779

MEDIUM · 5.5 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 →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 getCallStateUsingPackage of Telecom Service, there is a missing permission check. This could lead to local information disclosure of the call state with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android-12LAndroid ID: A-190400974

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

The getCallStateUsingPackage method in Android's Telecom Service lacks a permission check, allowing any locally installed application to query sensitive call state information without proper authorization. This enables unprivileged apps to access call metadata (incoming/outgoing/idle states) that should be protected.

MitigationApply Android system updates (Android-12L and later) from Google/OEMs. Enterprise environments may use MDM policies to restrict app permissions and monitor for suspicious apps accessing telecom data.

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:= 12.0

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
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 checks

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

  1. Check Android OS version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB
    Affected if The version is exactly 12.0 (Android 12, not 12L or later)
  2. Identify apps with READ_PHONE_STATE permission
    Review installed applications and check which hold the READ_PHONE_STATE permission in Settings > Apps > Permissions, or enumerate via 'dumpsys package' command
    Affected if Any application without this permission could potentially exploit this flaw to access call state data

Your device is affected if it runs Android 12.0 exactly, since this version contains the unpatched Telecom Service with the missing permission check in getCallStateUsingPackage.

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 Android system updates (Android-12L and later) from Google/OEMs. Enterprise environments may use MDM policies to restrict app permissions and monitor for suspicious apps accessing telecom data.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android 12L with January 2022 Security Patch Level or later

  1. 1. Navigate to Settings > System > Security & privacy on the Android device
  2. 2. Tap on 'Security update' or 'Google Play system update'
  3. 3. Check for and install any available security updates
  4. 4. Ensure the device receives the January 2022 Android Security Patch Level (SPL) or later which addresses CVE-2021-39779
  5. 5. After updating, verify the Telecom Service permissions have been corrected by confirming the missing permission check has been added
Caveat Security updates are generally low-risk; this is a standard monthly security patch that fixes the permission bypass without changing functionality

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
4.0 hours of engineering $750
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2021-39779 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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data