CVE-2021-37109

Memory protection bypass via unrestricted EDMA writes

Published Feb 9, 2022 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Security protection bypass in the modem of Huawei EMUI 12.0.0 allows local users to defeat baseband memory protections. The modem's EDMA controller can write the read-only MPU backup table because DMA transactions are not constrained by the ARM core's MPU rules. A local low-privileged user with a baseband write primitive can reprogram EDMA to remove read-only and non-executable restrictions.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.17%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Security protection bypass in the modem of Huawei EMUI 12.0.0 allows local users to defeat baseband memory protections. The modem's EDMA controller can write the read-only MPU backup table because DMA transactions are not constrained by the ARM core's MPU rules. A local low-privileged user with a baseband write primitive can reprogram EDMA to remove read-only and non-executable restrictions.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-37109
Published
Feb 9, 2022
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
MindSpore
Product
EMUI
Classifications
Unavailable
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 9, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 4, 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=12.0.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

MindSpore · EMUIversion=12.0.0

Published CVSS scores

7.8NISTCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
4.6NISTAV: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 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

No sourced classifications are available.

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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