HarmonyOS / EMUI CVE-2026-41976

Local access to the target Huawei HarmonyOS or EMUI device is required (AV:L) - remote network exploitation is not possible per the CVSS vector. The attacker does not require any elevated privileges (PR:N), meaning an unprivileged app or local user account is sufficient to attempt exploitation. User interaction is required (UI:R), which means a user on the device must perform some action - likely interacting with an audio feature or launching an application that invokes the audio framework - before the vulnerable code path is reached. The flaw is specific to the audio framework component. Factors that limit exploitation include: (1) physical or shell access to the device is a hard prerequisite; (2) user must be induced to interact, preventing fully silent background exploitation; (3) scope is unchanged (S:U), meaning the attacker cannot break out of the audio service's privilege context into higher system privileges. The confidentiality impact is high, but integrity and availability impacts are low, making this primarily a data-leakage risk rather than a full device compromise vector.

The CVSS 6.6 Medium score reflects a nuanced risk profile. The CVSS vector (AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:L) indicates local attack surface only - the attacker must have physical or shell-level access to the device, which significantly constrains the exploitable population compared to network-exploitable vulnerabilities. However, PR:N is notable: no special privileges are needed, meaning any unprivileged local process or app can attempt exploitation. The UI:R component adds friction, requiring a user action to trigger the vulnerable code path, which could be as simple as opening an audio-related application or interacting with a media feature. The high confidentiality impact (C:H) is the primary driver of risk - audio data leakage could expose microphone recordings, call audio, or media content without user consent. Integrity and availability impacts are low. No EPSS score was provided in the available data, so exploitation probability cannot be quantified numerically. The vulnerability is not in CISA KEV, and no public proof-of-concept exploit has been identified. On balance, this is a real but constrained risk: high concern for privacy-sensitive deployments and targeted attack scenarios (e.g., enterprise or government devices), but low risk for widespread automated exploitation given the local access requirement.

An attacker with access to a Huawei HarmonyOS or EMUI device - for example, through a malicious application installed on the device or direct physical access - triggers user interaction with an audio-related feature (such as initiating a call, playing media, or launching an app that accesses audio). By exploiting the improper permission check in the audio framework at the moment the audio service is invoked, the attacker's unprivileged process gains access to confidential audio data - potentially live microphone streams or audio recordings - without holding the expected audio permission grant. No public proof-of-concept exploit exists at time of analysis, but the low attack complexity (AC:L) suggests the technique would be straightforward once the permission control bypass is understood.