CVE-2021-40045

Service-data disclosure via recovery-mode signature failure

Published Feb 9, 2022 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Improper signature verification in recovery-mode system upgrades for HarmonyOS 4.0.0 and EMUI 2.0 allows local users to expose service data. Huawei identifies the vulnerable locus as the recovery-mode upgrade path but does not disclose which signature check fails or what crafted package data bypasses it. Reachability requires local low-privileged access to start a recovery-mode upgrade, and the documented consequence is limited to service-data confidentiality.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.15%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper signature verification in recovery-mode system upgrades for HarmonyOS 4.0.0 and EMUI 2.0 allows local users to expose service data. Huawei identifies the vulnerable locus as the recovery-mode upgrade path but does not disclose which signature check fails or what crafted package data bypasses it. Reachability requires local low-privileged access to start a recovery-mode upgrade, and the documented consequence is limited to service-data confidentiality.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-40045
Published
Feb 9, 2022
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
Product
HarmonyOS
Classifications
CWE-347
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=4.0.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. · HarmonyOSversion=4.0.0
MindSpore · EMUIversion=2.0

Published CVSS scores

5.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
2.1NIST NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N

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-347Improper Verification of Cryptographic Signature

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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