CVE-2021-0433

Privilege escalation via overlaid pairing consent

Published Apr 13, 2021 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

Tapjacking in Android 8.1 through 11 allows physically proximate attackers to pair a malicious Bluetooth device without informed consent. DeviceChooserActivity.onCreate leaves the Companion Device Manager consent UI exposed to non-system overlay windows, letting a third-party overlay redirect the user's tap. Exploitation requires a visible malicious overlay, a nearby Bluetooth device, and user interaction; successful pairing grants device-associated privileges.

CVSS severity8.0
High
EPSS probability0.55%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Tapjacking in Android 8.1 through 11 allows physically proximate attackers to pair a malicious Bluetooth device without informed consent. DeviceChooserActivity.onCreate leaves the Companion Device Manager consent UI exposed to non-system overlay windows, letting a third-party overlay redirect the user's tap. Exploitation requires a visible malicious overlay, a nearby Bluetooth device, and user interaction; successful pairing grants device-associated privileges.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-0433
Published
Apr 13, 2021
Updated
Aug 3, 2024
Vendor
Google Cloud
Product
Android
Classifications
CWE-1021, CAPEC-506
Attack vector
adjacent
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Apr 13, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 3, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=Android-8.1 Android-9 Android-10 Android-11

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectoradjacent
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Google Cloud · Androidversion=Android-8.1 Android-9 Android-10 Android-11

Published CVSS scores

8.0NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
5.4NIST NVDAV:A/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectoradjacent
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-1021Improper Restriction of Rendered UI Layers or Frames
CAPEC-506Tapjacking

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo