CVE-2021-0508

Local privilege escalation via unlocked play-policy access

Published Jun 21, 2021 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

Use-after-free in Google Cloud Android 8.1, 9, 10, and 11 allows local users to gain additional privileges via a ClearKey DRM race. The queryKeyStatus path reads the shared mPlayPolicy vector while another path can free its state because DrmPlugin.cpp does not lock the vector during iteration. A malicious local application must win the lifetime race; no user interaction is required, and successful exploitation crosses its existing privilege boundary.

CVSS severity7.0
High
EPSS probability0.18%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Use-after-free in Google Cloud Android 8.1, 9, 10, and 11 allows local users to gain additional privileges via a ClearKey DRM race. The queryKeyStatus path reads the shared mPlayPolicy vector while another path can free its state because DrmPlugin.cpp does not lock the vector during iteration. A malicious local application must win the lifetime race; no user interaction is required, and successful exploitation crosses its existing privilege boundary.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-0508
Published
Jun 21, 2021
Updated
Aug 3, 2024
Vendor
Google Cloud
Product
Android
Classifications
CWE-416, CWE-362, T1626
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jun 21, 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-8.1 Android-9 Android-10 Android-11

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

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

Published CVSS scores

6.9NIST NVDAV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
7.0NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-416Use After Free
CWE-362Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition')
T1626Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism

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

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Your stack

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