CVE-2021-22420

Application trustlist bypass via externally controlled settings

Published Aug 3, 2021 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

External control of system settings in Huawei HarmonyOS 2.0 allows local users to undermine the application trustlist. The published record does not identify the component, controlled setting, or exact operation that removes the trustlist's underlying trust. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access and leaves application trust decisions unreliable on the affected device.

CVSS severity7.8
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

External control of system settings in Huawei HarmonyOS 2.0 allows local users to undermine the application trustlist. The published record does not identify the component, controlled setting, or exact operation that removes the trustlist's underlying trust. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access and leaves application trust decisions unreliable on the affected device.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-22420
Published
Aug 3, 2021
Updated
Aug 3, 2024
Vendor
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
Product
HarmonyOS
Classifications
CWE-668
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 3, 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=2.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. · HarmonyOSversion=2.0

Published CVSS scores

7.8NIST National Vulnerability DatabaseCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.2NIST National Vulnerability DatabaseAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

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-668Exposure of Resource to Wrong Sphere

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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