dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2022-20084

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-05-03
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 telephony, there is a possible way to disable receiving emergency broadcasts due to a missing permission check. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Patch ID: ALPS06498874; Issue ID: ALPS06498874.

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

This is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in the Android telephony component where a missing permission check allows an attacker to disable emergency broadcasts without any special privileges or user interaction. The vulnerability enables a local user to modify telephony settings that should require elevated permissions, specifically around emergency broadcast reception.

MitigationApply the vendor patch ALPS06498874 which implements proper permission validation in the telephony component to prevent unauthorized modification of emergency broadcast settings. Verify after patching that emergency broadcasts remain functional.

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. Verify Android version
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' in ADB shell or check Settings > About Phone > Android version
    Affected if Version equals 10.0, 11.0, or 12.0 exactly
  2. Check security patch level
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' in ADB shell or check Settings > About Phone > Security patch level
    Affected if Security patch level is earlier than the vendor patch ALPS06498874 release date (approximately early 2022) or is empty/unset
  3. Verify telephony permission enforcement
    Inspect telephony service logs using 'logcat -d | grep -i emergency' while attempting to access emergency broadcast settings through the telephony API (requires controlled test environment)
    Affected if No permission denial errors appear when modifying emergency broadcast settings from an unprivileged context
  4. Check for missing permission check in TelephonyProvider
    Review the Android build's TelephonyProvider APK for the presence of proper permission validation in EmergencyBroadcastHandler or equivalent component (requires decompilation or source access)
    Affected if The code lacks enforceModifyPhoneStatePermission or equivalent check before allowing emergency broadcast modifications

The environment is affected if running Android 10.0, 11.0, or 12.0 without the ALPS06498874 vendor patch and the security patch level predates the fix, allowing unprivileged modification of emergency broadcast settings.

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 ALPS06498874 which implements proper permission validation in the telephony component to prevent unauthorized modification of emergency broadcast settings. Verify after patching that emergency broadcasts remain functional.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest Android security patch level (typically Android 13 or later with recent monthly security update)

  1. 1. Check the current Android security patch level on the affected device by going to Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level
  2. 2. Ensure the device is updated to the latest available Android security update from the device manufacturer
  3. 3. For MediaTek-based devices, verify with the device OEM that the patch ALPS06498874 is included in the installed build
  4. 4. If no update is available from the OEM, consider upgrading to a device model that receives active security support
Caveat Full OS upgrade may be required; ensure app compatibility and backup data before upgrading

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
19.0 hours of engineering $3,320
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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-2022-20084 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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