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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2022-20016

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 locking. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with System execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Patch ID: ALPS05862986; Issue ID: ALPS05862986.

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 vulnerability in the MediaTek VOW (Voice Wake-up) driver allows memory corruption due to improper locking mechanisms. This driver-level flaw enables a local attacker to escalate privileges to System level without user interaction.

MitigationApply vendor patch ALPS05862986 which corrects the improper locking in the VOW driver; this is a firmware/driver-level update requiring deployment to affected devices.

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

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. Confirm Android version
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' or check Settings > About Phone > Android version
    Affected if The version shown is exactly 10.0 or 11.0 (not 10.0.x or 11.0.x variants, and not other versions)
  2. Identify chipset vendor
    Run 'getprop ro.hardware' or check /proc/cpuinfo for MediaTek identifiers
    Affected if The device uses a MediaTek chipset (VOW driver is MediaTek-specific)
  3. Verify VOW driver presence
    Check /sys/class/misc/ or /dev/ for vow-related entries, or run 'lsmod | grep vow' if modules are accessible
    Affected if The MediaTek VOW (voice wake-up) driver is present and loaded on the device

A device is affected if it runs Android 10.0 or 11.0, uses a MediaTek chipset, and has the VOW driver present; the vulnerability cannot be triggered on non-MediaTek devices or Android versions outside the affected range.

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 vendor patch ALPS05862986 which corrects the improper locking in the VOW driver; this is a firmware/driver-level update requiring deployment to affected devices.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest Android 10/11 security patch level (refer to MediaTek security bulletin and device OEM release)

  1. 1. Check your device manufacturer's security update bulletin for the month containing the CVE-2022-20016 fix
  2. 2. Ensure your Android device is running the latest available security patch level for Android 10 or 11
  3. 3. Go to Settings > Security > Security update and verify you have the latest patch installed
  4. 4. If no update is available, contact your device manufacturer or carrier for ETA on the security patch

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 / QA4.0 h
32.0 hours of engineering $5,580
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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-2022-20016 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