CVE-2024-20021
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 atf spm, there is a possible way to remap physical memory to virtual memory due to a logic error. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with System execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Patch ID: ALPS08584568; Issue ID: MSV-1249.
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 confidenceA logic error in the ATF Secure Partition Manager (SPM) allows physical memory to be remapped to virtual memory incorrectly. This enables a local attacker with System execution privileges to potentially escalate privileges further. The vulnerability does not require user interaction.
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= 12.0= 13.0= 14.0CVSS 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
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/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.
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Verify Android OS versionCheck the device's Android version through Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADBAffected if The reported version is 12.0, 13.0, or 14.0 exactly (not newer patch levels)
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Confirm System execution contextDetermine if an attacker already has System-level execution privileges on the device. This can be verified by checking for root or System-level access via 'id' command or examining running processes with elevated privileges.Affected if The device allows execution with System privileges, which is the prerequisite for this exploit to be launchable
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Identify ATF SPM firmware componentExamine system or boot firmware information. On Android devices, this typically requires accessing bootloader or baseband version information via 'getprop' commands (e.g., getprop ro.boot.bootloader, getprop ro.vendor.build.id) or checking /proc/bootinfo if accessible.Affected if The device uses ATF-based Secure Partition Manager in its firmware, which is standard on ARM-based Android devices with Android 12-14 on affected chipsets
A device is affected if it runs Android 12.0, 13.0, or 14.0 and the attacker can execute code with System privileges, enabling exploitation of the ATF SPM memory remapping logic flaw.
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 patch (ALPS08584568) from the system/firmware vendor to address the memory remapping logic error in ATF SPM.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation3.0 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 $3,680.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-20021 — 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-2024-20021 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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