CVE-2022-20037
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 · uneditedIn ion driver, there is a possible information disclosure due to an incorrect bounds check. This could lead to local information disclosure with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Patch ID: ALPS06171705; Issue ID: ALPS06171705.
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 · high confidenceThis is a local information disclosure vulnerability in the ION (Input/Output Neutral) memory allocator driver used in Android systems. An incorrect bounds check in the driver allows a local attacker to read kernel memory beyond intended boundaries without requiring any elevated privileges or user interaction.
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= 10.0= 11.0CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Confirm Android version is 10 or 11Run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' or check Settings > About Phone > Android version. Alternatively, run 'getprop ro.build.version.sdk' which returns 29 for Android 10 and 30 for Android 11.Affected if The version returned equals 10.0 or 11.0 exactly, matching the affected versions.
-
Verify ION driver is present in the kernelCheck for the ION kernel config or device: look for /sys/class/ion/ directory, or check /dev/ion exists, or run 'ls -la /dev/ion' and 'ls /sys/class/ion/'.Affected if The ION driver interface exists (directory /sys/class/ion/ or device /dev/ion is present).
-
Check if ION heap is exposed to userspaceList contents of /sys/class/ion/ (e.g., 'ls /sys/class/ion/') and check for heap entries under /sys/class/ion/heaps/. Also check /dev/ for ion character devices.Affected if Any ION heap is exposed to userspace (heaps exist in sysfs or /dev/ion* devices are present).
-
Identify if the device uses a vulnerable ION implementationExamine the kernel for ION driver source: check for 'ion_buffer_prep' or similar functions in the kernel module, or check the kernel command line for 'ion' references. For SELinux-enabled devices, verify ION device nodes have appropriate permissions.Affected if The device exposes ION heaps to unprivileged userspace and the specific bounds check vulnerability in the ION driver code exists in the running kernel.
A device is affected if it runs Android 10.0 or 11.0 and exposes the ION memory allocator to userspace, since the vulnerability allows any local app to read beyond allocated ION buffer boundaries without special privileges.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
From vendor dataApply vendor patch ALPS06171705 which corrects the bounds checking logic in the ION driver to prevent unauthorized memory reads. Since this is a kernel-level fix, ensure proper testing on target devices to verify the patch doesn't introduce regressions.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,864.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-20037 — 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 sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-20037 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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