AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2022-20014

MEDIUM · 6.7 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 →
69/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 vow driver, there is a possible memory corruption due to improper input validation. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with System execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Patch ID: ALPS05857308; Issue ID: ALPS05857308.

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 vow driver (likely an audio/voice driver) due to improper input validation. The flaw allows a local attacker to escalate privileges to System level without requiring user interaction. The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of input data passed to the driver, leading to memory corruption that can be exploited for privilege escalation.

MitigationApply the vendor patch (ALPS05857308) to address the input validation vulnerability in the vow driver. Since this is a local privilege escalation requiring System-level access initially, prioritize patching systems where untrusted local users have access.

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
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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 version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version (or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via adb shell)
    Affected if The installed version is 10.0, 11.0, or 12.0
  2. Verify vow driver presence
    Check if the vow driver module exists on the device by looking for vow-related files in /system/lib/modules/ or /vendor/lib/modules/ (or run 'ls -la /system/lib/modules/*vow*' via adb shell)
    Affected if A vow driver module is present on the device
  3. Confirm driver is loaded
    Check if the vow driver is actively loaded by running 'lsmod | grep vow' or checking /proc/modules via adb shell
    Affected if The vow driver module is currently loaded in memory

A device is affected if it runs Android 10.0, 11.0, or 12.0 and has the vow driver module present and loaded, as the privilege escalation vulnerability requires this specific driver to be exploitable.

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 (ALPS05857308) to address the input validation vulnerability in the vow driver. Since this is a local privilege escalation requiring System-level access initially, prioritize patching systems where untrusted local users have access.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Android Security Patch Level 2022-05-01 or later (contact OEM for device-specific firmware)

  1. Check the current Android security patch level on the affected device (Settings > Security > Security patch level)
  2. Contact the device manufacturer (OEM) for the specific firmware update containing the MediaTek VOW driver fix
  3. Request the ALPS05857308 patch or security update that addresses CVE-2022-20014
  4. Apply the OEM-provided system update that includes the May 2022 Android security patch or later
  5. Verify the vulnerability is resolved by confirming the patch level and potentially using a vulnerability scanner
Caveat Applying OEM firmware updates may reset device to factory settings; backup data before updating

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing10.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
34.0 hours of engineering $5,940
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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-2022-20014 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
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