CVE-2021-22426
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2021-22426 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Huawei smartphones that allows attackers to execute arbitrary code by exploiting out-of-bounds memory access. This affects Huawei devices running HarmonyOS and certain Android-based EMUI versions. Successful exploitation could give attackers full control over affected devices.
💻 Affected Systems
- Huawei smartphones
- Huawei tablets
📦 What is this software?
Emui by Huawei
Harmonyos by Huawei
Magic Ui by Huawei
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete device compromise allowing remote code execution, data theft, surveillance capabilities, and persistence on the device.
Likely Case
Malicious app or crafted content could exploit this to gain elevated privileges, install malware, or steal sensitive data.
If Mitigated
With proper patching and security controls, the risk is significantly reduced to minimal exposure.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation likely requires user interaction or malicious app installation. No public exploit code available.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: HarmonyOS 2.0.0.216 and later, EMUI with July 2021 security patches
Vendor Advisory: https://consumer.huawei.com/en/support/bulletin/2021/6/
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Check for system updates in device Settings > System & updates > Software update. 2. Download and install available updates. 3. Restart device after installation completes.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable unknown sources
allPrevent installation of apps from untrusted sources
Update security settings
allEnsure Play Protect (on Android devices) and Huawei AppGallery security features are enabled
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Isolate affected devices from critical networks and sensitive data
- Implement application allowlisting to prevent unauthorized app execution
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check device Settings > About phone > HarmonyOS version or EMUI version. Compare with patched versions.Check Version:
Settings > About phone > HarmonyOS version or EMUI versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify device is running HarmonyOS 2.0.0.216+ or has July 2021 security patches installed.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unexpected process crashes
- Memory access violation logs
- Suspicious app installation attempts
Network Indicators:
- Unusual outbound connections from mobile devices
- Suspicious app update requests
SIEM Query:
device.os.name:HarmonyOS AND device.os.version:<2.0.0.216 OR device.os.name:EMUI AND security_patch:<2021-07-01🔗 References
- https://consumer.huawei.com/en/support/bulletin/2021/6/
- https://device.harmonyos.com/en/docs/security/update/security-bulletins-phones-202107-0000001170634565
- https://consumer.huawei.com/en/support/bulletin/2021/6/
- https://device.harmonyos.com/en/docs/security/update/security-bulletins-phones-202107-0000001170634565
