dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2022-20073

MEDIUM · 6.6 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-04-11
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
No privileges

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 preloader (usb), there is a possible out of bounds write due to a integer underflow. This could lead to local escalation of privilege, for an attacker who has physical access to the device, with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is needed for exploitation. Patch ID: ALPS06160841; Issue ID: ALPS06160841.

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

In the USB preloader component of MediaTek/ALPS-based firmware, an integer underflow vulnerability allows an attacker with physical access to perform an out-of-bounds write, potentially achieving local privilege escalation. The attack requires user interaction and physical access to the device, limiting the attack surface but not eliminating the risk.

MitigationApply the vendor patch ALPS06160841 through a firmware update. Given the physical access and user interaction requirements, prioritize patching for devices in high-security environments or those exposed to untrusted physical 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
Physical
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 MediaTek chipset presence
    Run 'getprop ro.hardware' or check /proc/cpuinfo to identify the chipset. This vulnerability affects only MediaTek/ALPS-based firmware, not all Android devices.
    Affected if The device does not use a MediaTek chipset - this CVE does not apply to Qualcomm, Exynos, or other non-MediaTek platforms.
  2. Check Android OS version
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' or check Settings > About Phone > Android version. Compare the output against affected versions: 10.0, 11.0, or 12.0.
    Affected if The device is running Android 10.0, 11.0, or 12.0 on MediaTek hardware - this matches the affected version range.
  3. Verify USB preloader accessibility
    This vulnerability exists in the USB preloader component. On affected devices, physical access to the USB port while the device is in a specific boot state could trigger the flaw. No simple user-facing config check exists; detection relies on version matching and vendor patch status.
    Affected if The device is a MediaTek-based Android device running version 10.0, 11.0, or 12.0 AND has not received the ALPS06160841 vendor patch.

A device is affected if it uses MediaTek/ALPS-based firmware, runs Android 10.0, 11.0, or 12.0, and lacks the ALPS06160841 vendor patch - physical access and user interaction are required for exploitation but do not eliminate the risk.

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 ALPS06160841 through a firmware update. Given the physical access and user interaction requirements, prioritize patching for devices in high-security environments or those exposed to untrusted physical access.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Android Security Patch Level containing ALPS06160841 (contact MediaTek or your device OEM for the specific release)

  1. Check with your device manufacturer (OEM) for the availability of security patch ALPS06160841
  2. Apply the latest MediaTek security update for your Android device that includes the fix for CVE-2022-20073
  3. Verify the patch has been applied by checking the Android Security Patch Level in Settings > About Phone > Software Information

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-20073 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2022-20073 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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.

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