CVE-2021-39780
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 Traceur, there is a possible bypass of developer settings requirements for capturing system traces 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-204992293
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 confidenceIn Traceur (Android's system tracing tool), a missing permission check allows bypassing developer settings requirements for capturing system traces. This enables local privilege escalation without requiring additional execution privileges, though user interaction is still needed for exploitation.
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= 12.0CVSS 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.
-
Verify Android version is 12.0Go to Settings > About phone > Android version or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shellAffected if The Android version displays exactly 12.0 (not 12.0.x or higher)
-
Confirm Traceur app is installedCheck app list in Settings > Apps > All apps, look for 'Traceur' or run 'pm list packages | grep traceur' via ADB shellAffected if The Traceur application is present on the device
-
Verify Developer options statusGo to Settings > Developer options or run 'settings get global development_settings_enabled' via ADB shellAffected if Developer options are currently disabled or never enabled on the device
-
Test Traceur access without Developer optionsAttempt to launch Traceur (Settings > System > Tracing or via intent: am start -n com.android.traceur/.MainActivity) while Developer options are disabledAffected if Traceur launches or provides tracing functionality without requiring Developer options to be enabled
A device is affected if it runs Android 12.0 exactly and has Traceur installed, allowing tracing functionality to work without Developer options being enabled.
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 Android-12L security patch that adds proper permission validation to Traceur. Users should exercise caution with installed applications and avoid granting unnecessary permissions pending the vendor patch.
Android 13 or later / Latest Android 12L security patch (2022-02-01 or later)
- Navigate to Settings > Security on the Android device
- Tap on 'Security update' or 'Google Play system update'
- Ensure the device has the latest security patches installed
- If available, update to Android 13 or later which contains the fix for this vulnerability
- Verify the installed patch level in Settings > About Phone > Android version to confirm the fix is applied
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 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 $4,480.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-39780 — 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-2021-39780 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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