AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2022-20012

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-01-04
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
In mdp driver, there is a possible memory corruption due to an integer overflow. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Patch ID: ALPS05836478; Issue ID: ALPS05836478.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

A memory corruption vulnerability exists in the MDP (Media Display Processor) driver due to an integer overflow. This flaw allows a local attacker to escalate privileges to higher levels without requiring additional execution privileges or user interaction.

MitigationApply the vendor patch (ALPS05836478) or update to the latest Android security patch level that includes this fix. Until patched, limit device access to trusted users only.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
AndroidOperating system
Affected:= 10.0= 11.0= 12.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check Android OS version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shell
    Affected if The version is exactly 10.0, 11.0, or 12.0
  2. Confirm device uses MediaTek chipset
    Run 'getprop ro.hardware' or 'getprop ro.mtk_platform' via ADB shell, or check chipset info in Settings > About Phone
    Affected if The device contains MediaTek hardware (MDP is a MediaTek Media Display Processor component)
  3. Check kernel for MDP driver presence
    Run 'ls /sys/class/mdp*' or 'find /sys -name '*mdp*' 2>/dev/null' via ADB shell to locate MDP driver nodes
    Affected if MDP driver nodes exist on the device (indicating the vulnerable component is present)
  4. Verify security patch level
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADB shell to check the installed security patch date
    Affected if The security patch level is earlier than the date when ALPS05836478 was released (patched date varies by region/carrier)

A device is affected if it runs Android 10.0, 11.0, or 12.0 on MediaTek hardware with the MDP driver present and has a security patch level predating the vendor fix.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the vendor patch (ALPS05836478) or update to the latest Android security patch level that includes this fix. Until patched, limit device access to trusted users only.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Android security patch level containing ALPS05836478 (MediaTek MDP driver fix)

  1. Check your Android device for the availability of the latest Android security patch level from your device manufacturer
  2. Apply the Android security update that includes the fix for MediaTek component - this is typically included in the monthly Android Security Bulletin
  3. Verify the patch ALPS05836478 is included in the applied update
  4. If your device is no longer supported by the manufacturer, consider upgrading to a device that receives regular security updates
Caveat Device must be supported by manufacturer to receive security updates; older devices may not receive patches

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
24.0 hours of engineering $4,200
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-20012 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-20012 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data