Skip to main content

Android CVE-2021-1048

HIGH
Use After Free (CWE-416)
2021-12-15 security@android.com
7.8
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
View

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Memory lifecycle management
MITRE ATT&CK

2 techniques across 2 tactics: Execution, Privilege Escalation

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Impact

CVSS score of 7.8 (HIGH). Attack characteristics: local attack vector, low complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction not required.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A local attacker with access to the system could access freed memory to execute arbitrary code or crash the application.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: In CISA KEV with patch available.
Exploited in the wild (CISA KEV) Patch available 1.0% exploitation probability (EPSS)

Get an e-mail when this CVE is exploited, patched or re-scored. Free account.

Alert me

AnalysisAI

In ep_loop_check_proc of eventpoll.c, there is a possible way to corrupt memory due to a use after free. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.

RemediationAI

A vendor patch is available. Apply the latest security update as soon as possible. Use smart pointers or garbage-collected languages. Set pointers to NULL after freeing. Enable memory sanitizers.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified as Use After Free (CWE-416), which allows attackers to access freed memory to execute arbitrary code or crash the application. In ep_loop_check_proc of eventpoll.c, there is a possible way to corrupt memory due to a use after free. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android kernelAndroid ID: A-204573007References: Upstream kernel Affected products include: Google Android.

Know when Android gets its next vulnerability

  • Watch products and get an email when something new is published
  • Check this CVE against your own stack and servers
  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

No credit card · 7-day full trial

Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 7.8 HIGH
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Lifecycle Timeline

2
Added to CISA KEV
Jul 14, 2026 - 04:22 CISA
CVE Published
Dec 15, 2021 - 19:15 nvd
HIGH 7.8

DescriptionNVD

In ep_loop_check_proc of eventpoll.c, there is a possible way to corrupt memory due to a use after free. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android kernelAndroid ID: A-204573007References: Upstream kernel

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
1.0%
Top 40% exploitable
Data Quality
2 sources
Confidence: Low

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity HIGH
CISA KEV Yes
Public POC No
EPSS 1.0%
Patch available Yes
Active threat Yes
Deciding rule
In CISA KEV with patch available
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Out-of-Cycle
Exploitation· derived
Active
System Exposure· derived
Small
Automatable· derived
No
Human Impact· derived
High

Priority Score

90
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: +50
EPSS: +1
CVSS: +39
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Privilege escalation occurs when an attacker leverages flaws in access control mechanisms to gain permissions beyond what they were originally granted.

Use-after-free vulnerabilities occur when a program continues to access memory through a pointer after that memory has been deallocated.

Memory corruption occurs when a program writes data beyond the boundaries of allocated memory regions or accesses memory in unintended ways, violating the integrity of the process's address space.

Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.

Affected Products (CPE)NVD

cpe:2.3:o:google:android:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
CVE-2015-3105 CRITICAL POC
10.0 Jun 10

Adobe Flash Player before 13.0.0.292 and 14.x through 18.x before 18.0.0.160 on Windows and OS X and before 11.2.202.466

CVE-2015-3864 CRITICAL POC
10.0 Oct 01

Integer underflow in the MPEG4Extractor::parseChunk function in MPEG4Extractor.cpp in libstagefright in mediaserver in A

CVE-2013-4710 CRITICAL POC
9.3 Mar 03

Android 3.0 through 4.1.x on Disney Mobile, eAccess, KDDI, NTT DOCOMO, SoftBank, and other devices does not properly imp

CVE-2015-1538 CRITICAL POC
10.0 Oct 01

Integer overflow in the SampleTable::setSampleToChunkParams function in SampleTable.cpp in libstagefright in Android bef

CVE-2024-21633 HIGH POC
7.8 Jan 03

Apktool versions 2.9.1 and prior contain a path traversal vulnerability when processing Android APK files. Malicious APK

CVE-2017-13156 HIGH POC
7.8 Dec 06

An elevation of privilege vulnerability in the Android system (art). Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability

CVE-2016-2107 MEDIUM POC
5.9 May 05

The AES-NI implementation in OpenSSL before 1.0.1t and 1.0.2 before 1.0.2h does not consider memory allocation during a

CVE-2015-3106 CRITICAL POC
10.0 Jun 10

Use-after-free vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player before 13.0.0.292 and 14.x through 18.x before 18.0.0.160 on Windows

CVE-2015-3107 CRITICAL POC
10.0 Jun 10

Use-after-free vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player before 13.0.0.292 and 14.x through 18.x before 18.0.0.160 on Windows

CVE-2013-4787 CRITICAL POC
9.3 Jul 09

Android 1.6 Donut through 4.2 Jelly Bean does not properly check cryptographic signatures for applications, which allows

CVE-2014-7911 HIGH
7.2 Dec 15

luni/src/main/java/java/io/ObjectInputStream.java in the java.io.ObjectInputStream implementation in Android before 5.0.

CVE-2016-0801 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Feb 07

The Broadcom Wi-Fi driver in the kernel in Android 4.x before 4.4.4, 5.x before 5.1.1 LMY49G, and 6.x before 2016-02-01

This site uses cookies essential for authentication and security. No tracking or analytics cookies are used. Privacy Policy