CVE-2021-0486

Local privilege escalation via stale storage grants

Published Jul 14, 2021 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

Permission bypass in Android 10 and 11 PermissionManagerService allows local users to retain unauthorized external-storage access. The onPackageAddedInternal method failed to revoke storage permissions when an app downgraded below API 29 or began requesting full storage. A user-executed app needs no further interaction to keep the stale grant, including for secondary users, and access externally stored data outside its current permission model.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.11%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Permission bypass in Android 10 and 11 PermissionManagerService allows local users to retain unauthorized external-storage access. The onPackageAddedInternal method failed to revoke storage permissions when an app downgraded below API 29 or began requesting full storage. A user-executed app needs no further interaction to keep the stale grant, including for secondary users, and access externally stored data outside its current permission model.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-0486
Published
Jul 14, 2021
Updated
Aug 3, 2024
Vendor
Google Cloud
Product
Android
Classifications
CWE-276, T1404
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jul 14, 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

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Is a vulnerable build present?

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

  1. Affected versionversion=Android-10 Android-11

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Google Cloud · Androidversion=Android-10 Android-11

Published CVSS scores

7.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
4.6NIST NVDAV:L/AC:L/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.

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No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-276Incorrect Default Permissions
T1404Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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