CVE-2021-40003
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 · uneditedHwPCAssistant has a path traversal vulnerability. Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may affect data confidentiality.
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 confidenceHwPCAssistant contains a path traversal vulnerability that allows attackers to access files outside the intended directory through specially crafted file paths. This could enable unauthorized reading of sensitive files on the system, impacting data confidentiality.
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< 2.0CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/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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Identify if HwPCAssistant is installedCheck the device or system for the presence of the HwPCAssistant application. On HarmonyOS devices, this may be listed in installed applications or system apps.Affected if HwPCAssistant is found on the system
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Determine the HarmonyOS versionCheck the device settings for the HarmonyOS version number (typically found under Settings > About Phone > Version).Affected if The HarmonyOS version is below 2.0
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Confirm HwPCAssistant version if accessibleIf possible, check the specific version of the HwPCAssistant application through system settings, package manager, or application info.Affected if The HwPCAssistant version is prior to the version that includes the fix for path traversal
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Assess if file handling features are accessibleDetermine whether the HwPCAssistant file transfer or file access functionality is enabled or accessible to users or processes.Affected if The vulnerable file path input feature is enabled or exposed to untrusted input
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Check for unexpected file access attemptsReview application or system logs for any suspicious file path patterns containing traversal sequences (such as ../) passing through HwPCAssistant.Affected if Log evidence shows traversal sequences being processed by HwPCAssistant
The environment is affected if HwPCAssistant is present on a HarmonyOS device running version below 2.0 and the file path handling feature is accessible or has been exploited.
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 · scoped2.0
Implement strict input validation and sanitization for all file path inputs, using allowlists and canonicalizing paths to prevent traversal sequences (../) from being processed.
HarmonyOS 2.0
- Upgrade HarmonyOS to version 2.0 or later to resolve the path traversal vulnerability in HwPCAssistant
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 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 $4,224.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-40003 — 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-2021-40003 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
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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