CVE-2021-39642

Local privilege escalation via LWIS ioctl race

Published Dec 15, 2021 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Out-of-bounds write in the Android kernel's LWIS Camera code allows local users with System privileges to escalate privileges without interaction. A race in synchronous_process_io_entries in lwis_ioctl.c lets concurrent I/O entry processing perform a write beyond its intended bounds. Exploitation requires local System execution privileges on an affected Pixel device, and the resulting memory corruption enables privilege escalation.

CVSS severity6.4
Medium
EPSS probability0.09%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Out-of-bounds write in the Android kernel's LWIS Camera code allows local users with System privileges to escalate privileges without interaction. A race in synchronous_process_io_entries in lwis_ioctl.c lets concurrent I/O entry processing perform a write beyond its intended bounds. Exploitation requires local System execution privileges on an affected Pixel device, and the resulting memory corruption enables privilege escalation.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-39642
Published
Dec 15, 2021
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Google Cloud
Product
Android
Classifications
CWE-362, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
admin

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Dec 15, 2021CVE 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=Android kernel

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

Google Cloud · Androidversion=Android kernel

Published CVSS scores

6.4NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
4.4NIST NVDAV:L/AC:M/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
Privilegesadmin
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-362Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition')
T1068Exploitation 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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