CVE-2021-0551 Denial of service in Android

What is CVE-2021-0551?

CVE-2021-0551 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Google Android, published on 22 Jun 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

Official description

In bind of MediaControlPanel.java, there is a possible way to lock up the system UI using a malicious media file due to improper input validation. This could lead to remote denial of service with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android-11Android ID: A-180518039

Weakness: CWE-74

Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-0551?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Google Android.

How do I fix CVE-2021-0551?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Upgrade, then put limits on request size, rate and nesting depth so one client cannot exhaust the service. More about Denial of service.

Is CVE-2021-0551 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-0551 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Other vulnerabilities in Google Android

• CVE-2026-58704 Google Pixel Improper Authorization Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2025-48543 Android Runtime Use-After-Free Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2023-35674 Android Framework Privilege Escalation Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2025-48595 Android Framework Integer Overflow Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2024-32896 Android Pixel Privilege Escalation Exploited High 8.1

All Google Android vulnerabilities

Sources

• CVE record
• NVD
• OSV
• GitHub advisory
• How this page is made

Also known as A-180518039, GHSA-f2rg-wjgw-95g9, PUB-A-180518039.