CVE-2021-46787
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 · uneditedThe AMS module has a vulnerability of improper permission control.Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may cause non-system application processes to crash.
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 AMS (Application/Activity Manager Service) module contains an improper permission control vulnerability that allows non-privileged processes to crash other non-system application processes. This is an authorization bypass in the system's process management functionality.
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= 10.1.0= 10.1.1= 11.0.0= 11.0.1= 12.0.0= 3.1.0= 3.1.1= 4.0.0= 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
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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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Identify the installed Huawei OS versionOn the device, go to Settings > About Phone (or System > About Device) to view the EMUI, Magic UI, or HarmonyOS version numberAffected if The version displayed matches exactly 10.1.0, 10.1.1, 11.0.0, 11.0.1, or 12.0.0 for EMUI; 3.1.0, 3.1.1, or 4.0.0 for Magic UI; or 2.0 for HarmonyOS
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Confirm the OS typeVerify whether the device runs EMUI (Huawei), Magic UI (Honor devices), or HarmonyOS by checking the About Phone settings or the system brandingAffected if The device runs any of the three affected OS types (EMUI, Magic UI, or HarmonyOS) with a version listed as affected
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Verify AMS module is presentCheck that the Activity Manager Service (AMS) is functional on the device by observing normal app switching, process management, or using shell commands like 'dumpsys activity' via ADBAffected if The AMS module is present and operational on the device (which is the default state for affected versions)
A device is affected if it runs EMUI versions 10.1.0-12.0.0, Magic UI versions 3.1.0-4.0.0, or HarmonyOS version 2.0, as these contain the vulnerable AMS module with improper permission controls.
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.
From vendor dataApply the vendor-provided security patch for this vulnerability in the AMS module. Organizations should prioritize patching mobile device firmware or affected system packages to prevent unauthorized process termination.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-46787 — 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-2021-46787 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
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