CVE-2019-2215Android Kernel Use-After-Free Vulnerability

Patch nowHigh7.8ExploitedEPSS 72%

CVE-2019-2215 is a use after free in Android Kernel, rated high (7.8 on CVSS 3.1).

Why this priority: Exploited in the wild: listed in CISA's KEV catalog.

Published 11 Oct 2019 · Updated 17 Jun 2026 · NVD status: Analyzed

What it is

Code keeps using memory after releasing it, so an attacker who refills that memory can steer execution.

How it is reached

An attacker can exploit it by someone who can already run code or sign in on the machine, with an ordinary user account, and nobody has to click anything.

What an attacker gains

A successful attack can read the data it protects, change data or behaviour and take it offline. In practice, this kind of flaw lets an attacker crash the process, read memory, or in the worst case run code.

Is it being exploited?

CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2021-11-03: it is being exploited in the wild. EPSS estimates a 72% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 99% of scored CVEs.

What to do

Treat it as urgent: it is on CISA's KEV list. CISA's deadline for US federal agencies: 2022-05-03.
Apply the fix for Android Kernel: the patch and release notes are linked below.
Limit who can run code or sign in on the hosts that run it.
Check exposed instances for signs of compromise, not only for the version.

Description from NVD

A use-after-free in binder.c allows an elevation of privilege from an application to the Linux Kernel. No user interaction is required to exploit this vulnerability, however exploitation does require either the installation of a malicious local application or a separate vulnerability in a network facing application.Product: AndroidAndroid ID: A-141720095

What this means for your architecture.

A CVE names a product. Whether it matters depends on where that product sits in your systems: what reaches it, which trust boundary it guards and what it can reach once compromised. Veriom maps your components, their relationships and your trust boundaries from your code, cloud and delivery evidence, so you can see where a component like this sits. The radar itself does not look at your systems.

Components it touches

Network edge devices: VPNs, firewalls, routers and gateways. They sit between the internet and internal networks, so a flaw in one is often the first step into everything behind it.
Operating systems on servers, workstations or devices. Everything on the host inherits the flaw.
Native code: operating systems, browsers and firmware. The flaw sits wherever native code reads untrusted data.
Network appliances and media or file parsers. The flaw sits wherever native code reads untrusted data.

Trust boundaries in play

Host boundary. The attacker needs a foothold on the machine first; the flaw turns a small foothold into a bigger one.
Wherever native code reads untrusted data. An attacker who crosses it can crash the process, read memory, or in the worst case run code.

Questions to answer about your own systems

Where does Android Kernel run in your systems, and at which version?
Which of those hosts also run code or users you do not fully trust?
What can it reach once compromised: which data stores, secrets and services?

See how Veriom maps an architecture Take the interactive tour

Patches and commits

Advisories

Exploits and proofs of concept

Sources

CVE records and CVSS scores from the NVD CVE API. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.
Exploitation status from CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
Exploit likelihood from FIRST’s Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), refreshed daily.
Explanations are written by Veriom from fixed templates over each record’s data, not by a person reviewing each CVE. Descriptions are quoted from the records as published.