CVE-2021-0598

Local privilege escalation via NFC pairing tapjacking

Published Oct 6, 2021 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

Tapjacking in Android 8.1 through 11 allows local users to pair an untrusted Bluetooth device through the NFC confirmation UI. ConfirmConnectActivity.onCreate displays the pairing confirmation without blocking non-system overlay windows, allowing a malicious app to redirect a user's tap. Exploitation requires a locally installed app with User execution privileges and user interaction; the unintended pairing produces local privilege escalation.

CVSS severity7.3
High
EPSS probability0.12%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Tapjacking in Android 8.1 through 11 allows local users to pair an untrusted Bluetooth device through the NFC confirmation UI. ConfirmConnectActivity.onCreate displays the pairing confirmation without blocking non-system overlay windows, allowing a malicious app to redirect a user's tap. Exploitation requires a locally installed app with User execution privileges and user interaction; the unintended pairing produces local privilege escalation.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-0598
Published
Oct 6, 2021
Updated
Aug 3, 2024
Vendor
Google Cloud
Product
Android
Classifications
CWE-1021, CAPEC-506, T1404
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Oct 6, 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-11 Android-8.1 Android-9 Android-10

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

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

Published CVSS scores

4.4NIST NVDAV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
7.3NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/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 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-1021Improper Restriction of Rendered UI Layers or Frames
CAPEC-506Tapjacking
T1404Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

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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